Alpha
by Singularity Nebula
Summary: A young orphan was punished a bit more severely than the original punishment with no knowledge of why he was punished in this specific way. This catches the eye of a certain ghost who experienced a similar incident, has a horrible background, and a goal for both himself and the orphan called Alpha.
1. Prelude

If you already know and have read this story, this information is for you.

If you have no idea what this story is, haven't heard of it, or just crusin along, Continue.

As I was saying.

I have begun to fully update and rewrite each chapter of Part One of _Alpha_. Why? Because I am not happy of how it was written/typed.  
These rewritten versions will be more detailed and **MUCH **longer than the originals.  
For those who want me to continue the story from the End, I **AM** considering about it. Currently, I have no...real...reason to..continue the story. But I am brainstorming.

Have fun Reading!

* * *

The room was made of checkered sheet metal and was stained with blood. The lights above shined down, revealing clumps of hair and bone that scattered the floor. Two figures stood side by side, one yelling at the other in rage. In the right corner was a figure the size of a small boulder.

"How many times do I have to tell you: No More Strays! It's already beyond cruel that we are killing pegasi for failing a simple flying test or any other lesser crime, but being a stray? That isn't something that they pick, that they want to happen! You don't prepare or study to be abandoned by your parents! This is wrong." The galaxy-blue coated princess spoke out, slamming her hoof into the floor for emphasis. Her armored hoof rang out, waking the figure in the corner.

"I would apologize but it'll fall on deaf ears." The Princess of Equestria spoke out with both sorrow and regret. "I had no choice. After his defeat, harmony began to collapse and the Economy seemed to follow close behind. I had to find a way to restore peace and harmony."

"You don't need to give me another history lecture. Where I was," Luna replied with a frown. "I had a view of everything. Just make sure he doesn't get hurt." She replied, looking at the young figure whose breathing had returned to normal.

Celestia shook her head. "Living and working here is a life fraught of depression, sadness, and no will to live. He will hate his life; become isolated; and eventually become victim to this dreadful place. You do realize what you are condemning this soul to, do you not?"

Luna nodded, confirming that she knew exactly what she was doing. The colt, pretending to be still unconscious, had opened his tree-bark brown eyes and turned his head around slowly to look at the Legendary Princess nodding her head, sentencing to a life that, after a quick glance around the room, the colt knew wasn't going to be good.

Luna turned to look at the colt and noticed the reflection of the light on his eyes. "He is awake."

Celestia nodded and walked toward the corner of the room where the colt laid, Luna behind her. "Listen here, my colt. The life you know is over and a new one fraught with peril and death waits. The choice to live is now up to you and only to you. You will not survive and eventually, you will find yourself victim to this place. In a few hours, you will begin working at this place; if you fail to respond or do your work, you will be punished severely. Remember only to be strong and no matter what you do, fear _him_"

Alpha stayed quiet and looked up to Celestia and watched as she lifted her hoof and brought it down onto his face, not once or twice, but three times, knocking him unconscious.

"Welcome to the Rainbow Factory, Alpha."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A punishment Without Reason

The room was quiet. Dried blood painted the floor, walls and ceiling, leaving the grey dead hair and decayed bone fragments to litter the dirt floor. It was no bigger than a dull office cubicle and contained only a blackened bed mattress and a moth-balled and shredded blanket. On this bed that not even mold would want to feed off of if most slept soundly a white pegasi with a myriad of blue colors that made up his mane.

The guard outside slammed his hoof into the door, waking up the pegasi inside. "Get up and out! Time to get to work!"

The white pegasi growled as he was rudely waken from his nap, not as if he ever gotten actual beauty sleep. "Come on, five more minutes." He yelled out, pulling the ragged and never-washed covers over his muzzle.

The guard forcefully opened the blackened-steel door, revealing him to be a unicorn. Behind him hovered a metallic pole with two prongs at the end. The prongs sparked to life as the Taser was turned on. "Now." He growled.

Alpha poked his face out of the covers and glared at the guard. "Fine," He snarled. "I'm up." He shoved the covers back with his right-wing and got up, walking past the guard. He exited the door and joined the others as they all were rudely woken up and walked to the showers.

_Turn a right after door. _

Although he was only a colt and those around him were much older than him, nopony gave a glance at the youngling. Half-asleep, Alpha had already memorized where to go that it was muscle memory. His legs knew where to go.

_ 50 paces forward._

_Turn left. _

_ 25 paces forward._

_ Turn right._

_ 42 paces forward. _

_ Turn right._

_ 10 paces forward_

_ Turn left. _

The colt was broken and acted like a husk; a soulless, mindless shell. Although the Rainbow Factory was a living and breathing hell, there were still small events that helped Alpha along.

Today, he had turned 11. Unlike most his age who wanted a cake, presents, friends and a party, all that Alpha wished for was to be given a full meal and get some real sleep without getting in trouble. Not that he was a trouble maker; like those around him, getting in trouble was what you didn't want to happen. Punishments were often cruel and torturous and most who got in trouble didn't survive. Those who did wish they hadn't and in the past, those who did survive often threw themselves into the machine.

Alpha opened his eyes once his legs stopped and looked up. A dirty tiled room with shower heads five feet above the ground made up the Showers. There were no heat-or-cold valves; the water was always the same rainwater: cold.

He waited for a shower to be free as the cold mist woke him up. One freed up and he replaced the missing worker with himself. The cold liquid seeped through his sweat-drenched mane and coat, stinging as it splashed onto his newly formed burn that etched itself from above his right eye and ended just below his left. Only a week old and it felt as if it happened an hour ago.

Once his five minutes were up, he left the Showers, making his way to the Locker Room. He always had a knack for repairing metal parts and, on the plus side; he really couldn't hear the screaming. The white colt turned a left, walked a couple meters then took another right, entering the Locker Room assigned for his job. Alpha walked past the rows of dented and old olive-green lockers; their color slowly fading away, until he reached his own at the half-way point.

Pushing himself up onto the bench that divided the row of lockers, Alpha leaned precariously as he reached for his lock. He spun the wheel as he imputed the code and yanked down as he finished, unlocking the lock and removing it. Now was the hard part.

Alpha had lost count of how many times he had hit the floor face first as he pushed himself off the locker to get off the bench. He hesitated and then, with a huff, he pushed off the locker and, for a moment, was balanced as his momentum seemed to cease. He smiled as he watched his locker slowly open as the metal bounced back ever so slightly.

And then his balance decided against him.

He felt fine until he slowly began to lean to far back. Panicking, Alpha countered, leaning too far forward and toppled over. His face hit the side of the opened locker, causing the pain of his burn to spike to near-inconceivable limits. He hit the floor with a thud, his hooves covering the scar, his wings covering his face as he writhed about and screamed in agony.

* * *

Last week, a guard had brought in another pony; a red unicorn mare with a god-like blond mane and had a wrench as her cutie-mark. As the guard talked to his partner about the stray, the mare hesitantly explored her surroundings. She turned her face left to right as she scanned the room and her eyes locked on to the seemingly abandoned welding torch on top of a table. Her curiosity peaked and took control over her body, slowly walking towards the object, her eyes wide and glued on it.

Upon closer examination, the welding torch was a rude improvised version of an actual welding torch.

At one end was a small cylinder about the size of a water bottle that she presumed held the gas. Tubes connected the cylinder to the gas head about twelve inches directly opposite of the cylinder. The pipe that connected and protected the tubes to the gas head was a small blackened pipe and was bent at a 90° angle to the right. A leather leg guard held the torch in place during use by two thick leather straps that were to be wrapped around the leg. The pipe was held firmly atop of the leather guard and in between the head and gas tank was a valve that controlled the gas flow.

She looked around and noticed the spare canisters of fuel on her left. The mare reached out, grabbed the torch, placed her left leg underneath the top of the wrist guard and firmly wrapped the straps of leather around it, strapping the tool to her leg, oblivious to the metallic pipe rolling around on the floor that had fallen from the table when she took the tool.

Noticing the small gas valve on the top of the wrist guard, she hesitantly tugged on it and a cautious smile slowly formed upon her face as she heard the flammable gas whistle through the nozzle. Her eyes widened as the gas was lit by the small electric sparker within.

Alpha entered the bay, pushing a large box of broken materials to repair as he looked up at the mare, wondering if she knew that that table was his workstation. He watched as the mare tugged on the valve, opening it nearly all the way, causing the torch to breathe an acute cone of fire to which the mare yelled out in fear and shock.

The white colt jumped over the box and galloped for the mare as fast as his tiny white legs would carry him. "The valve," He screamed. "Close the valve!" The others stopped what they were doing and looked around to the source of the cry.

He was close, his hoof outstretched to tackle the mare, when he tripped on the pipe that had fallen from his table.

Time seemed to slow down to a near stop.

He watched, unable to do anything, as the mare turned around to see who spoke.

She saw him tripping and her instincts kicked in, raising her left leg up to block her face.

The torch was ablaze; its heat turning the nozzle red.

His eyes were open and they watched in fear as the nozzle moved closer, threatening them.

The pegasi slammed into the mare and he let out a scream that could fill the invincible with crippling fear as the welding torch came into contact with his face, its fire changing in a blur of neon colors as the rainbow-liquid within him touched with the acute cone of fire. His chest impacted the table first and he convulsed violently as he was brutally close lined. The body hit the ground with its right hoof squeezing its chest, the left covering his face.

The mare hit the ground as well and fumbled quickly with the valve before shutting it off; the flame dying at once but its nozzle still glowing dark red. She shook off the confusion and turned to look at the colt. His mouth was open and was making an inaudible croaking sound as he desperately gasped for air. His wings were opening and closing as he fought for control over the immense pain. She watched in horror as he fell silent, still writhing in pain.

She quickly unstrapped and removed the welding torch and reached out towards the colt but was stopped when a hoof stood on her outstretched leg. Her head slowly looked up and stared in horror at the guards dressed in black. Their faces, emotionless, made them look unreal, that is until they frowned at her. Two guards behind her lifted the mare off of her hooves and began to drag her away towards the door that she had entered not too long ago.

Some of the workers cleaned up the mess for Alpha but none actually helped the poor colt.

He felt…different. The pain was still there but it felt as if it was lessened. He rolled to his stomach, wincing and stood up and turned to see the guards taking the mare away. Alpha felt empowered, as if he drank a potion and it enhanced his willpower and strength tenfold. He took a breath and spoke loudly.

"She does not deserve to be punished."

The guards turned around to look at the colt; a new scar etched into his face and was even still burning. The stallion on the mare's right chuckled, dropped the mare and gave Alpha a curious and confused look. "She hurt you; damaged your face beyond repair and nearly broke a welding torch. Do you know how hard it is to get these tools?"

Alpha began to reply but coughed violently and felt dizzy. He shook his head and resumed speaking. _"Having their parents abandon them should not be punished by death, let alone tortured and killed."_ He stopped suddenly at the different tone in his voice but decided to ignore it and continue. "She was curious," He spoke as he limped to the guards, his right front hoof clutching his chest. "She wanted to know what the tool was. Thank Celestia I walked into the room and was able to stop it before it got worse. Had I not, she," Alpha pointed to the mare. "Wouldn't be alive." He stopped and then added. "And your _welding torch_ would've been destroyed beyond repair. Let her go, I'll show her the ropes." He felt his heart race as he stopped clutching his chest and reached out for the mare.

But he was stopped by the guard before he could touch her.

"Don't worry." He said; his voice gruff and deep. "We have ponies working on that, she'll live."

Alpha felt the urge to argue but decided not to. He was already in immense pain; he didn't need anymore. He nodded, glanced at the mare then turned around, still limping away.

He got to his table, strapped on the welding torch and pushed himself up onto his hind legs, resting his front hooves on the top of the table and begun to stand up the spare canisters that had fallen down when he impacted the table when a soaked gray strip of what seemed like cloth hit several of the standing canisters, causing them to scatter. Alpha's shoulders dropped and he turned to see who threw the cloth.

A purple pegasi, a stallion, had his hoof covering his mouth with his eyes open wide before dropping his hoof and quickly trotting towards Alpha. "Sorry 'bout that; meant to throw it in front of you, not for it to hit the canisters." He saw the cautious glance that Alpha gave to the wet strip and laughed. "Don't worry; its water is from the faucet that we use to fill out buckets with. You know, the water we use to cool the parts we repair."

"Oh, Thanks." The colt said with a smile as he grabbed the strip and wrapped it around his head so it covering and cooled down the burn. "Still stings." He added.

"It will. Mind if I ask a question?"

"Not at all." Alpha replied as he picked up the fallen and scattered canisters.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"You stood up for the mare. Why?"

Alpha turned and gave him a confused look as if he was insulted. "Because she was innocent; because her curiosity took control over actual reason." He sighed and his face relaxed. "Three years ago, I was caught stealing bread because I was a stray and had no clue how to make money. Instead of bringing me to a jail as punishment, they brought me here to work for the rest of my short life. I do not believe in such punishment as death or torture for those whose wrong is so minuscule. When I was a stray, I did not know that stealing was wrong, I was just hungry. So I stood up although I was hurt, because I knew for a fact and I still know what they were about to do to her."

The stallion smiled and nodded. "Keep that trait kid for most on this planet want revenge."

* * *

They watched the colt writhe about in pain, their faces emotionless, as their partners held the colt down forcefully. One held a bucket above and splashed the cold liquid on his face, violently bringing him back from the past and into the present. Alpha coughed violently but fell silent as if somepony placed a spell upon him when he looked up at the guards that surrounded him. He swallowed.

"Alpha?" One of the guards spoke.

He blinked quickly before nodding, too afraid to speak.

"Pick him up."

Alpha felt hooves grab him, lifting him up and placing him firmly, not gently, back onto his hooves but the hooves that helped him up didn't leave.

One guard left, then another, then another until those who held Alpha gave him enough of a push to tell him to follow. He heard metal scraping metal as one picked up his welding torch.

They walked past the showers and his cell and took a right. Alpha was uncomfortable and sacred. A group of guards was one thing; he had been punished before but he knew from the cries and screams that haunted and plagued him at night echoed from this hallway. The walls were an eerie white but weren't littered by doors or signs like the other hallways Alpha saw. They were clean.

The guards felt the gradual increase of resistance from the colt and continued to push when needed. They knew that Alpha was beginning to put the pieces together, realizing where he was going and had begun to snicker, glancing at the other and nodding.

They reached the end of the hallway and waited in front of the double door that mimicked those seen in hospitals which confirmed Alpha's greatest fears. The door opened and Alpha was shoved inside. The room, unlike the hallway, was nightmarish.

The floor was built with checkered sheet metal and like his ceiling in his cell, was stained and crusty with dried blood. Hoof-Saws, knives, machetes, needles, whips, large stakes and other various torture devices and tools were held by racks on the walls. The lights that shined down were horribly rudimentary; a thin copper spring held by two prongs in a glassless lightbulb. In the center of the room was a clean and shiny chrome-like table. Lit up by a strong light above, Alpha could make out the four metallic restraints on either end and the two on either side.

_Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up._ Alpha turned around to flee and instead was met with a punch to the jaw. He fell back to the ground and stared at the wall of guards that blocked the exit. He was shaking violently as his fear exploded within.

A hoof on his right shoulder was more than enough to send the colt fighting for his life. He screamed, struggled, and bit his way out but to no avail as he was forced onto the table by a group of guards, resisting to surrender to his fate like a man would resist and continue to fight when he realized he was going to die horribly and slowly, unable to change his fate.

One stallion climbed up onto the table and placed all his weight onto Alpha's chest as he forced him down while the other guards forced his hooves into the restraints and closing them, locking each leg in place. His wings flapped violently but for he was still young, they restrained them with ease.

"W-w-why am I here?" The colt cried.

"You are here because you have violated and broke the laws of this facility." The stallion that held him down told him. "You stopped a mare from doing what she was told." He growled as he leaned down towards his face. His breath stank of cigar smoke and liquor; a specialty that only the highest of guards could obtain. "Normally, this…violation would result in death via the machine, but we received a special letter from the Princess herself, hoof-written, that you, specifically, were to be kept alive." He said with a grin.

Alpha's eyes widened.

"I'm going to be honest with you because you WILL live after this. The original plan was to take off a wing, play with that pretty scar of yours, and maybe have some _fun," _His eyebrows jumped and he smiled. "With you before we end your life as you bleed out." He shook his head and sighed, gesturing somepony who Alpha couldn't see to come to him. "But, because the princess wants you alive, we won't have fun."

The white colt's heart nearly stopped as he heard the sound of a familiar welding torch turn on; the gas whistling. "I-I-I'm sorry. I-I-I promise I won't do it again. I-I swear." He began to frantically plead as he felt the heat beneath his right wing.

"Don't worry. We know you will never do something like this again." He nodded and the pony out of view brought the torch to the tip of Alpha's right wing.

He watched, his head poking through the blood-stained ceiling. He was invisible, dead for hundreds of years, to all those alive and mortal. He watched the colt, brutally bullied and innocent, tortured without reason. Instead of letting him die, they would keep him alive, which did not suit the ghost well."_If you are going to torture an innocent pony, you should kill him in the end."_ He spoke to himself, not caring if the living could hear him. Being dead and a ghost had both its pros and cons. Not being heard when he talked was both a pro and con.

Alpha writhed in pain, unable to scream or cry as his wing was burnt off, the pain too much for him to even gasp for air. His back arched up and down and he struggled continuously as the agony wreaked havoc upon his mind.

The ghost above took a breath and decided that now would be the time was he could return and gain revenge. He gathered what power he could from the nearby electrical appliances and flung himself _into_ the colt.

Alpha's vision faded as the pain began to shut down his mind.

The Ghost grabbed hold of the spirit within and swung himself onto it, combining his own to the body. Powerful and dark mutant magic collided with Pegasi Magic and, for it was the right time and the right place, a bond, as weak as a snowflake, but a bond none the less, began to form.

Alpha's back relaxed as he lost conscious due to the pain. The wing fell to the ground soon after.

"Good job." The guard above the unconscious colt said with a smile, tapping Alpha's cheek to check if he was still awake.

"I try." The other replied with a shrug and a grin. He tugged on the valve and the gas ceased to whistle. He sighed and looked down at the colt.

"He won't bleed out, will he?"

"The wing is cauterized, so no; he won't. What did that letter say about the colt? The one you mentioned?" The stallion rested his back on the table, the torch resting in his relaxed right hoof.

"Not much really. He's for some sort of 'Experiment'. Something about spreading fear or some shit like that." The lights flickered and the two looked up.

"The machine isn't supposed to start, right?"

"It's too late for it to start." The stallion hopped off of the table and walked towards the wall of guards, his partner following. "Let's go see what's up."

"_Let's not, shall we?" _The voice was calm and old but young at the same time. It was a bit lower than Alpha's, but just a bit, by a hair. He breathed in and felt the cold air pass through his mouth and down the windpipe, filling the lungs; a first for the ghost for 900 years.

The main guard froze and turned to look at his partner.

The partner shook his head before looking behind and watching the colt's back arch up. "Aw…shit." He muttered as his friend walked by.

"Back for more fun? We thought you nodded off." The main stallion chuckled.

_It_ laughed. _"Nah, just resting my eyes._" The restraints unlocked and the guards watched in confusion as the unconscious colt sat up and hopped off the table. He opened his eyes and looked around. _"Nice place, bit rudimentary, but it would get the job done, just barely though."_

"Alpha?" The guard had walked up to the colt and tapped his shoulder. The colt turned his head and glared at the guard who stood up on his hind legs; his back straight.

He watched as Alpha's eyes slowly changed from brown to red.

"_What?"_

"Get back on the table or else."

"_Or what?"_ He talked back. _"Are you gonna hit me again?"_

The stallion behind the main guard lit the welding torch, glaring at him.

The colt smiled, grinned, and then chuckled as his mane turned from blue to blood-red. _"Lemme explain something."_ He stood up without a problem on his hind legs, his front hooves bent at Forty-Five degree angles and tilted to either side. _"I am not Alpha."_

The main stallion, insulted and embarrassed that this colt, whoever he was, would not listen, took a step forward with his left-hind hoof and swung a right hook at the colt.

The colt chuckled and shook his head with disgust. _"Predictable."_

_It_ ducked under the hoof with surprisingly fast reflexes and jabbed the attacker's chest twice with his left then his right hooves, the second hoof cracking the ribs within.

The guard, stunned, clutched his chest in pain and gasped for air.

_It_ side-stepped around the guard, brought its right hoof just above and past its left shoulder and swung hard against the spine of the stallion, easily breaking several vertebrae.

The stunned stallion arched his back from the blow, the back of his head parallel to the floor.

The colt, now possessed by the ghost, reached up, wrapped his hooves around the guard's neck and crouched, bringing the guard's head down across his shoulder, snapping the guard's neck and killing him instantly.

He looked up, letting go of the corpse's head, and smiled as the wall of guards locked the doors and began to surround him. One stood facing him, the torch alive with flame in his right hoof.

The colt stood up and lowered his head, waiting. His ears flicked left and right as he listened to the others moving. He heard a whip uncoil, the leather scraping against itself and hitting the floor with a soft thud in the right corner. He heard the distinct sound of Velcro as one of the guards strapped on the hoof-saw on his left.

The room was quiet. All that _he_ could hear were seven guards breathing. The ghost slowly extended the left wing, still intact, as he attempted to get used to the limb that he never owned. He bent both front legs and extended them fully twice, twisted the head left and right, and arched his back like how a robot does a diagnostic on its new body; checking quickly to see what does and doesn't work.

"_Before you die, you should know my name." _

He heard the deep inhale, the strong grunt as the stallion exhaled and the near-silent sound of the leather strands stretching as they were extended it their full limit.

The possessed colt turned and fell back on his front legs, lunging at the guard, ducking under the whip as it flew over him.

The whip cracked.

The colt somersaulted onto his back and slid, kicking out his right hind leg hard at the Guard's left, breaking the knee.

The guard, due to the phantom experiencing adrenaline for the first time in recent memory, slowly began to react to the pain.

_He_ didn't let him and grabbed the leg as he slid past, tripping the guard and using the leg to swing him around like a pendulum.

The stallion's head hit the ground with a thud, the jaw fracturing upon impact.

And his skull shattered like glass as the colt spun in the air and landed beside, stomping his right hoof into the crown.

The whip hit the floor with a sad and soft thud.

"_I am Beta."_ You replied with an evil grin as he removed his hoof from the skull and wiped what blood and skull fragments off on the back of the dead guard like he would with mud on a welcome mat. _"And you WILL NOT survive this." _


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: An Idea

"THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR!" Luna screamed, engulfed in rage. "Working at the Rainbow Factory is one thing, but this?! This is undeniably cruel and evil." "Luna, calm down." Celestia said. "CALM DOWN!? You tell me to calm down? After what just happened? ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!?" Luna yelled. "Let. Me. Explain." Celestia told her sister, trying to calm her and her own tempers down. "Explain? Fine, explain why Alpha's wing was cut off, why he was punished after saving a red mare, why he is still in the Rainbow Factory. Explain that." Luna turned to leave but stopped when she heard her sister sigh. "It is time you learned about Beta."

...

Alpha awoke with a start and looked around. He was in his bed, in his cell. _It was just a dream_, Alpha thought. Alpha pushed the covers with his right-wing- but was shocked when they did not move. Confused, he tried moving his right-wing when he realized what had happened. He froze in complete and utter shock, and looked at what remained of his right-wing. His right-wing was gone, he had no wing. He then remembered what happened. He remembered the pain, the welding torch, his wing being slowly burned off. He remembered everything going black, then feeling a hot feeling consume him. It felt as hot as the welding torch on his face but it felt so good. That is when _it_ spoke to him.

_"Heh, you are alive. Didn't think you would make it"_

Alpha staggered off bed as he tried to become used to having only one wing, while having this _thing_ talk to him.

_"Well, actually, you would not be alive if it wasnt for me." _

Alpha clumsily walked over to the right side of the room as there was a mirror there, albeit cracked.

_"Don't be shy. Go on and look at your new self."_

Alpha glanced at the mirror and stared at his reflection. He was soaked in blood, his right-wing (what was left of it) was still slightly smoking, cauterised from the torch.

"W...what happened...?"

_"Aww, you don't remember?"_

"Am I supposed to remember?"

"_No, perhaps not. I.."_

There was a knock at the cell door.

_"Somepony is here! I am not strong enough to defend you. I will be here when you need me"_

"Come on kid, get out!"

Alpha had no reason to work today, let alone move or walk. He just stared at his reflection.

"Fine, have a talk with Mr. Sparky." The door swung open and in came a pony with a cattle prod labeled 'Mr. Sparky'. He saw Alpha staring at the mirror. "Oh, you are looking at your reflection, huh? Most kids are stunned when the see a mirror." The pony chuckled, "Come on, lets go."

But Alpha did not move. The Guard groaned, tired and not really wanting to hurt the white filly. "Lets not make this any harder, let's go." Alpha wasn't listening. He gave up. He no longer had a right-wing, no longer had a reason to live. The guard had enough. " Hey, dipshit!" he said as he grabbed and turned Alpha to face him. "You listen...ing ...to...m... Sweet...Celestia's...Mother!" he guard stuttered to a stop as he dropped Mr. Sparky, his eyes glued to the wingless arm, and backed up in horror. Alpha just glared at the guard, almost looking through him, as if he wasnt there. Alpha seemed not to notice, and walked out of his cell. He looked around him. Most ponies stopped at stared at the little white filly's missing wing. Some ponies went over to ask if he needed help, others just backed away as if they just saw something very evil and did not want to get involved. Those who did try to help were given nothing, as Alpha, numb from the pain, just looked on. His mind was blank. Instead of going to the showers like he usually did every morning, he instead went to the cafeteria, got a tray with food, walked to his cell, and placed the tray near the mirror. He then walked out of his cell, went to the showers, got a wet wash cloth, went to the lockers, got his right wing glove, and finally went back into his cell. He then shut the door, and once making sure the door was fully closed and locked, he walked to the mirror, lied down on the floor and started to cry.

He was not crying because of the pain, he was crying because why there was pain. He was still confused why he was punished for helping another pony.

"I...I helped her...I saved her from hurting herself and anypony else around... Why was I punished for doing something right...?" Alpha said aloud.

_"I don't know. If I did know, I would tell you." _Beta said, trying to comfort Alpha.

"...Who-What are you..exactly...?" Alpha asked.

_"That is a good question. I would answer it, but you are my main concern, not me. I am the reason you aren't feeling a lot of pain from your wound." _

"But it still hurts."

_"Not everypony is perfect at what they do. I know it still hurts, but if I stop, you would be in a lot more pain than you are in now."_

"...Thanks..."

_"Don't mention it. Here, let me take over for a bit."_

"Take over?!" Alpha cried out, now scared than relaxed.

_"Calm down, No one will get hurt this time. The wound is cauterised, but it still needs to be cleaned, if it doesn't get clean soon, it may get infected. If you let me take over, I will be able to clean it so it won't get infected. I promise after I am done cleaning the wound, I will let you take over again." _

"...Okay...How do I let you take over...?"

_"Just take a deep breath, and relax."_

Alpha took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. Once relaxed, he felt the same hot feeling he felt before rise within him. But this time it wasn't very hot as it was soothing. Alpha found himself wanting to fall asleep.

Beta then took control of Alpha. Slowly standing up, Beta grabbed the wash cloth and cleaned the wound throughly, making sure it was clean and wet. Beta then grabbed the right-wing glove, and ripped the glove so it would act like a case. He then put the glove over the wing, tying it with the rag Alpha used for his eye. Once he was done, Beta acted on his promise, and let Alpha take over again-but Alpha was too tired to take over. Beta then instead got into the Alpha's bed, covered himself with the blanked, and let Alpha slowly take over as he slept.

The next day, Alpha got up and noticed Beta's help. He was about to thank Beta when he noticed that Beta was still asleep. Instead, he did his daily routine. He winced as the pain from his wingless arm flew through his body again. Either he did not care or did not seem to notice, Alpha walked into an Empty Repair bay to his workstation. Yesterday, he heard that some Nightmare Moon would return today. As he reached his workstation, he started on repairing a gear cog for the machine. As he reached over for his torch, he looked at his wingless arm, still covered by the makeshift cast. He just stared at it. He then looked at his work bench as an idea formed into his head. He quickly took off his helmet and right-wing glove and grabbed a nearby pole that he had fixed 2 days ago. He measured his wing with the pole and cut the pole where his wing ended. He then put the end of the pole near the end of his still-agonizing wingless arm.

_"What are you doing?"_ Beta was awake. Alpha was fully unaware of Beta being awake that he jumped in surprise.

"Beta, You are awake!"

_"Yeah, I woke up while you were still in the shower."_

"You could have said something! You scared the living crap outta me!"

"_Oh. Sorry." _

Alpha took a deep sigh. "It's okay, just make sure next time, you say something."

"_Are you actually thinking about doing that?"_

"About what?"  
_"About that!" _Beta said, moving Alpha's eyes so they focus on the pole near his right wound.

"Yeah, I am. Why?"

_"Are you insane!? You could be caught!"_

"Relax, they fear me."

_"You?"_

"Well, you actually, but you are me, so technically me." Alpha stuck his tounge out, as if sticking it at Beta.

_"So, you really gonna do it?" _

"Yes, I want to do it. It's my only ticket out of this hell."

_"If so, you will need help."_

"Help? I'll be fine. I know what to do."

_"Oh really? Do you know how to create a circuit board? How to create a program? How to create anything for that matter?"_

"Huh..?"

_"Do you know or ever heard of a Computer?"_

"A Computy-what?"

"_Yeah, you will need help." _

"Ugh, fine."

Alpha went to get more Items of the Machine to "repair" as Beta started on ideas for Alpha.

Together, they would make Alpha's Right-Wing


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Beta

"He is a Mutant? But that isn't possible! Mutants only happen in the human world."

"It can happen in Equestria, though it is extremely rare. You are more likely to see Mother and/or Father and talk to them than to come across a mutant." Celestia explained.

"The reason why Alpha is stuck in the Rainbow factory is very complicated. Beta was a mutant, he was an earth pony who could use magic as you and I can. His life was very hard. Bullied and discriminated for most of his life, he was used to being alienated by everypony in at a very young age. His parents tried to help him, but failed trying. He failed school at age 8. Only knowing how to read and being alone, he was very bright for his age. But because he was a mutant, nopony cared.

Celestia stopped as she lowered her head. Luna looked at her, watching her, wondering what happened. "Beta was depressed nearly all his life because nopony wanted a mutant as a friend. He became obsessed with his ability. He would break into the library, here at the castle, every night. He would read all the books on magic, both light and dark magic. He self-taught himself. I knew what he was doing because I watched him. One night, I decided to go and meet Beta myself, a decision I would later hate myself for making."

...

Alpha walked back to his cell. He had been working on his wing with Beta for over a week. The two just completed creating the work plans for it. They had a hell of a time stealing the paper, and the pencils to then have a harder time trying to find a place to find where to hide it. The two went through an hour of arguing where to put it. In the end, they stuffed it in Alpha's locker. He walked into his cell, closed the door, and collapsed on his bed. He was dead tired, but wanted to know something that has been on his mind ever since last week.

"Beta?"

_"Yeah?"_

"What...Who are you?"

_"You really want to know?" _

"Please tell me."

"_Well, let me start at the beginning. This takes place about 900 years ago. I was born as a normal earth pony with a un-normal special gift. I could use magic. I did not know about my gift until I was about your age. Before then, I was happy. I had a family who loved me, I was excellent at school, I had friends. I was very, very happy. On my 8th birthday, I discovered my gift. It was night-time. My parents allowed me to take an evening stroll, to calm down my mind for school the next day. As I was walked to an empty, grassy field, I looked up to see Princess Celestia fill the night sky with the stars and her sister's moon. I was soon hypnotized with the spectacle. I noticed, when I looked around me to see if any other pony was there watching, a rock, floating beside me. I jumped in fright. The rock fell to the ground. I looked around me, then up at the sky, thinking Celestia or another pony was playing a joke on me. But I was alone. I then had an idea, I tried to lift the rock myself, without touching it. But it wouldn't move. I then looked up at the sky, then at the rock, trying to feel hypnotized like I did when I saw Celestia. And guess what, it worked. I found that when I felt that hypnotized like feeling, I could do magic. I dropped the rock, and galloped as fast I could home. I was energetic, eager to tell my parents. I found out that I had a gift. That I was different, in a good way." _

Beta took a deep sigh.

"What Happened?" Alpha asked, worried about Beta's sudden stop.

"_I was wrong. So. Very. Wrong. When I told my parents, at first they acted as if I had told them a funny joke. But then I showed them what I could do, and then they became very worried."_

"Why?"

"_Back then, anypony that wasn't an Earth Pony, Pegasus, or Unicorn, besides the Princess, were shunned by society. They treated them with disrespect, they discriminated and bullied them. My parents took me in, not letting me out as they talked to the Princess herself about me. I was in my room when she came to me. I was looking down at the ground, embarrassed because I thought what happened was not allowed, that I broke a rule that was never told to me. When I looked up, I was expecting my mom and dad to be standing there, looking at me in anger, about to punish me for what I did. Instead, I saw Princess Celestia. I just stared at her. She asked who I was and what I showed my parents. I responded, telling her what I did. Celestia then asked if I could do it again. I lifted a ball near me, raising it to my head. I then flew it across my room, without looking at it, fully mastering how to lift anything and move it with ease. She watched in awe, and once I lowered the ball to the ground, turned around at once and left. After that day, nothing was the same. Word had gotten out that the Princess had met with me in private. Rumors were spread that I did something horribly wrong. My friends started leaving me one by one. I started failing school. It wasn't important to me anymore." _

"I'm sorry." Alpha said, trying to comfort Beta.

"_Don't be sorry. You weren't alive back then, You couldn't do anything."_

Beta took a deep breath and continued on.

_"My parents desperately tried to help me at school. They focused on the academic side, but not the social side of my life, the one thing I actually needed help on. I did not say anything because I did not know what to say. They pretended that it was okay, to keep me happy. But as I watched my friends leave me and not come back, I knew something was wrong. That it wasn't okay. I was so angry. I was angry at myself for showing my parents about my ability. I..." _Beta stopped to regain his memories.

Alpha was looking at himself through the mirror, as Beta talked. The mirror was what Alpha used to talk to Beta during these types of long conversations. It gave him something to look at. Beta would use his ability of magic to change the reflection so it would show what he looked like when he was alive so when Alpha used the mirror while talking to him, Alpha could see who he was talking to. Alpha would, instead of talking to a reflection, talk to Beta.

Alpha looked at Beta, and saw him trembling, trying not to cry as he told his story.

_"I started...cutting myself."_ Beta admitted, shaking as he tried his best not to break down. _"I was so angry and alone. I did not know why I was so alone. My parents told me it wasn't my fault. That I did not do anything in the past to deserve this, that I wasn't being punished. But when I asked why everything was happening the way it was, they replied "We don't know." They always gave me that answer. Adults that were still nice to me gave me that answer. Everypony gave me that answer. I was sick and tired of it. I was alone. I decided to read, get my mind off of the pain. However, the only good books were at The Castle's library (so I was told) and to get in, you had to be part of the either the staff, a guest of the Princess, or become a Guard. Since I was too young to become part of the staff or a Guard, and never thought I would become a Guest of the Princess, I did the next possible thing I knew." _Beta looked at Alpha. Alpha saw that although he was crying, he was smirking as well, almost sneering.

"What did you do?

Beta chuckled. _"I broke in."_

"What?! You broke into the Castle?!"

"_No, not the Castle itself, but it's library. When I finally got into the Library, I found out that the books weren't story books. No, they weren't story books. They were Spell Books. I later found out that I had broken into Celestia's Personal and Private library. All her spells, her magic, her power were in the books in front of me. I had no knowledge of that though. I brought a bag with me so I could 'borrow' some books and bring them back home to read. I would then come back after I read them and return them, then I would grab more books and do it again. The first 5 books I took were from the top shelf. Since I already mastered how to use my ability on moving objects, I got the books, put them in my bag, and left under 5 minutes. Took me an hour to get out of the Castle. It's much easier breaking in than breaking out." _

"_The books I took where about dark magic, very dark magic. The abilities that the Dark magic could do were much darker than what the black pony did to you Alpha." _

Alpha listened to Beta as he continued on talking about the power of the dark magic he taught himself how to use. Alpha started to figure out why everypony was afraid of himself when Beta came out.

"_She came to me, when I was reading the last book. She told me that "For everything that happens, there is a reason why it happened behind it." That quote changed my life. It made sense! For every action, there is an equal, opposite reaction. But because I believed it wasnt my fault, because my parents told me so, I thought I was innocent..." _

Beta stop talking. He was watching Alpha. Alpha did not realize that Beta stopped talking, that he was staring at him, so Beta wasn't surprised when Alpha yelled in shock when he realized that he had stopped talking and was just looking at him.

"Whats wrong?" Alpha asked, calming down from the scare.

"_You just figured out what I did, didn't you?"_

"Figured out what?"

"_Figured out why all Ponies become afraid of you when your mane, tail and eyes turn red. When you let me take over. Why they are afraid of me." _

"Yes, I know now why."

Beta lowered his head and screamed. It wasn't a scream of pain, but a scream of anger, of his realization that he may have said too much. That he may have just screwed up his one and only chance at a normal life.

The Mirror instantly shattered as Beta screamed. It turned into shards of glass, floating in mid-air and moved toward the door. Alpha felt empty as he watched the door open and the shards move as they flew into the hallway, leaving Alpha to follow them. Once the shards were in the hallway, it turned left and started moving to the Repair bay, gaining speed as it flew. Alpha struggled to keep up with the moving pieces of glass. He galloped after them as they skipped the lockers, entered the repair bay and went for Alpha's workplace. Alpha raced the shards to his work place and got there first. He stepped in the path of the Shards and closed his eyes as braced himself for the on coming assault of flying glass...

But nothing came. He opened his eyes to see the floating shards in front of him.

"Beta."

No response came.

"Beta, I know you are there."

Still no response.

"Why were you screaming? Are you hurt? Are you okay? Please, tell me what is wrong."

Alpha heard a sigh and looked around himself. He was alone. He then looked at the shards, confident that Beta was in there.

"Beta, please." Alpha begged. "What is wrong?  
The Shards started to move around Alpha.

But Alpha would not let that happen.

"Beta! I will not let you leave! Not now, not after what I went through."

"_Let me do what I want to do, Alpha." _

"No. You are my one and only friend. I am not going to let you go."

With that, Alpha took off his right-wing glove and, using it as a net, caught the unaware floating shards with one swift swing. He then dragged the bag to his cell. He closed the door and released the glass shards. He made sure the door was behind him as he watched the glass shards regroup in front of him.

"_Move out-of-the-way, Alpha." _

Alpha lowered his head. "Why did you try to leave?"  
_"Because you know what I did."_

"So?! Why should that be a problem."

"_I thought you would become afraid of me." _

Alpha raised his head. "What makes you think that what you did would make me afraid of you?"

"_I killed ponies. I slaughtered them. I slaughtered hundreds of them." _

"I know

_"Why are you not afraid of me?"_

"Because you are my friend. And I will never be afraid of my friend."

Alpha watched as the glass shards floated to the broken mirror and repaired itself, every glass shard joining each other. Once the Mirror was fixed, Alpha cautiously walked to the mirror, making sure that it wasnt a trick, that Beta wasn't trying to leave him. Once close enough to the mirror, Alpha saw Beta looking at him, his eyes were red from crying. Alpha walked to the Mirror and placed his hoof on the glass, as if trying to touch Beta. He watched as Beta looked at him, and placed his own hoof were Alpha's hoof was. When his hoof matched Alpha's, Alpha felt that warm feeling inside him. He smiled, Beta was with him once more.

"Beta."

_"Yes, Alpha."_

"I swear to the gods, I will never be afraid of you."

_"Thank you, Alpha. Thank you for listening to me, and not being afraid of me for what I did."_

Alpha walked to his bed. He climbed on the bed and covered himself with the covers,

"That is what friends are for, right?"

_"Right."_

As Alpha closed his eyes, he felt safe. Secure.

Alpha hasn't felt that way for 4 years. It felt amazing.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: One Last Step

The white pegasus groaned as he turned over on his bed and flexed his burned wing. Beta had just completed injecting some sort of metal into the bone of Alpha's right-wing, making it magnetic to the wing's outer metallic frame.

"Ugh..." Alpha moaned, as the metal inside his bone started to cool and expand. "How long will this take again?" He asked, trying to sleep through it.

_"If my calculations are correct...The metal should cool in about 4 hours."_

"How long again? Remember, I never got the luxury of going to school."

_"The same amount of time it took to create one 'feather' for your wing. And you don't need to remind me about your life."_

"Well, I'm going to try to catch some sleep."

_"Alpha, we need to go over the plan again."_

"No we don't, Beta. We have gone over it 200 times."

_"156, actually." _Beta corrected.

"You know what I mean. I memorized it already. I need to sleep."

_"I know...I'm just-" _Beta took a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" Alpha looked at the mirror, watching Beta's expression from seriousness to being worried.

_"It's...nothing." _Beta hid his worried look with a smirk. _"I'm just anxious and nervous. Go to sleep." _

"If you say so..." Alpha placed his head on his pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Beta looked at Alpha. _"Sweet Celestia, I hope this plan will work."_ Beta's image from the mirror slowly faded away as he fell asleep within Alpha.

Alpha slowly woke up, walked out of his cell, and headed for the showers. He washed out the sweat in his mane and relaxed. After he dried himself, Alpha walked to the lockers, grabbed his left-wing glove and his torch then walked to his workplace. He smiled as he saw his wing, completed and finished, waiting for him on his desk. Alpha and Beta had worked for 3 years straight on the Wing. Creating it was a hell of a puzzle.

The frame of the wing was made of a metal that Beta was able to create, combining Dark magic with steel. Dubbed 'The Dragon Metal', this metal was very light but was able to withstand extreme amounts of pressure and damage. It also turned blue or red depending on the creator's/user's feelings (a side effect of using dark magic). Beta decided it would be a good idea to create the wing out of this metal. Creating the metal took about 2 years. The top of the wing, where Alpha's bones would be, were made of hollow Dragon Metal tubes. The wing needed to be able to open and close, so a bolt was placed in each tube to connect them with the frame. That took about a month. Then came the feathers. Each feather was made of sheet metal. When all feathers were completed, which took about 11 months, Alpha welded them on to the tubes. Each feather overlapped one another, creating an air resistance-like wall, similar to what an actual wing would create. The wing needed to be able to cover part of Alpha's Right wing. Alpha created a pocket within the wing in which he could put his own wing in. The last part that was needed was to make sure that the wing would not come from Alpha's wing in flight. Beta took care of that problem last night, injecting some sort of metal into Alpha's Right-Wing's bone, making it magnetic. Because the wing was created with dark magic, the wing had joined itself to Alpha's soul. If the wing got damaged, Alpha would feel pain where it was damaged.

Alpha walked over to the wing, and slipped his burnt wing into the pocket. He felt the metal in his bones expand as they configured itself to the metal of the wing. After about 5 minutes, Alpha, with Beta's guidance, moved the wing for the first time.

_"Carefull, Alpha. Let's not get ourselves hurt by it." _

Alpha grinned in glee as he flexed his newly created right-wing. It was a dream come true. He finally had his wing back. Although he knew that was not true, that he did not have his real wing back, he did not care. After about an hour of moving the wing back and forth, up and down, he relaxed his wing, bringing it down to his right side. He walked to the cafeteria, and ate some food. He noticed that most of the ponies were staring at his newly created wing. Alpha chuckled as he let Beta out, letting him have some fun as well.

While Alpha was walking back to his cell, he saw the red mare, the one who he stopped 3 years ago, being pulled to a room by guards. Curious, he followed them, keeping Beta at the ready if anything were to happen. Instead of going straight to the torture room, they took a left. Alpha was now really curious. "Where are they taking her?" he said to Beta.

_"I don't know, but this isn't really a good idea. Let's go back."_

Alpha was not going back to his cell. He saved the mare once. If needed, he would save her again. He followed the guards down a hallway with windows. He was about to go through some doors when his eye caught something in the window. Making sure he was alone, he stood on his hind legs and looked out the window. Once he saw the machine, he knew what the Factory was for. He always knew the Rainbow Factory was used for something evil. But he never knew it was used for something like this. He watched as fillies were strapped into the machine and brutally tortured and killed. He didn't wait to see why they were killed though, as he raced to find the guards with the red mare, hoping he could stop them from killing her. Alpha had just reached the guards as they entered the room with the Machine.

"Can we stop them?"

_"The problem is not if we can stop them. The problem is how to stop them. I cannot stop the machine." _

"Then we do the next best thing." Alpha said, watching the guards strap the mare into the Machine. He felt Beta rise within him, taking control.

_"We destroy it." _Beta said, finishing Alpha's sentence.

Beta ran into the room, killing both guards instantly with the raw edge of his hate. He looked at the mare, the machine slowly crushing her corpse. He swore, then looked around for a way out. He ran toward the doors in which he came in from and found out that they were locked. He looked at the machine and noticed some pipes leading either into or out of the machine. _"We already killed two guards. If we stop now, we die." _Beta told Alpha with a sigh. _"Well, there goes our plan."_

"So? What's the worst that can happen?" Alpha told Beta as he took control over his body and used his wing to sever the pipes. He looked at his wing, surprized that it cut the pipes. A rainbow-liquid started to come out of the Machine.

_"That looks weird. Let's do some more damage. Place your left wing on the pipe on your left."_

Alpha placed his left wing on the pipe on his left, like Beta told him and felt the tip of his wing get quite hot.

_"Take off your wing and see chaos unfold." _

Alpha took his wing off just in time to see a ball of light on the pipe explode into hundreds of tiny balls. Each ball flew in different directions, bouncing off everything. Once a ball touched an object like a pipe, the pipe would slowly turn into golden light, then explode into more balls of light. Alpha laughed. Each ball of light was basically a virus in a physical form. Everything around him was starting to turn into small balls of light. Once the room was turned into balls of light, the balls stopped moving, then split into two groups. One group went to the door behind Alpha to spread the infection. The other group went a wall to the right of Alpha. Alpha followed the balls to the wall. He watched as the balls melted into the wall and turned the wall into a huge wall of light than dissapear. There was no wall in front of Alpha. It was dark. Alpha made sure there was no wall, then slowly walked through.

"_Look up."_

Alpha did as Beta said and gasped. He saw stars. He was outside. Alpha looked behind him and saw the Factory glowing. All of the Factory glowing. He then spread both wings, and for the first time in six years, flew off into the night. He was finally free.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A new start

Although Alpha was free, he had no idea how to fly. He dropped like a rock, falling through the cloud layer and began plummeting toward the ground. "Shit!" He screamed as he fell, "Beta, help!"

"_I was an Earth pony when I was alive. I have no clue how to fly!"_ Beta replied casually.

"Thanks for the help." Alpha said sarcastically.

"_Try spreading your wings and legs to slow down your speed to glide and balance out." _

With his legs spread, Alpha's mind raced as he struggled to spread his wings. Once the tips of his wings caught hold of the wind, they instantly opened, slowing Alpha's decent. He was still falling at an incredible rate, but it was no longer in the lethal range. As Alpha started to slowly balance his weight, something caught his attention in the distance. It was a small village. Alpha slowly leaned forward, placing his weight on his legs and glided toward the Village.

"_What are you doing?" _

"There is a village up ahead. We can probably find ponies there, considering it's actually there and not an hallucination"

"_So? You are aware that it has been 6 years since you have actually been in a public place, right? And we don't have any bits/currency that they use. "_

"You don't need remind me of that. I am fully aware. I'm sure my skill at welding can become of great use there."

"_Do you know how to land?"_

Alpha was about to respond when he realized he was about to fly straight into an old oak tree. Alpha instinctively leaned to the right, turning sharply to avoid the tree but was too late. His left wing bounced off the tree, throwing him off balance. He fell 10 feet to the forest floor. His mechanical wing hit the ground first, causing Alpha tumble through the forest, his head hitting another tree, knocking him out in the progress. He finally came to a bone-crushing halt, 6 feet away from the edge of the EverFree Forest.

Alpha woke up the next day. He slowly got up, shaking his head to shake off any dirt in his mane.

"_That was a hell of a crash landing you had there. Are you hurt?" _

Alpha let out a sigh of relief when he heard Beta's voice in his mind.

"No, I'm okay," He made a thorough check on his wings for any damage then shook off any dirt on his back and tail. "Just some scratches" Alpha continued, "nothing serious." He took a last look at his right wing and then started to walk to the edge of the forest. He stopped at the edge of the forest when he Beta getting nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"_I remember this place." _Beta said slowly. _"I used to live here…" _

"So did I…but I didn't have the luxury of having a home…"

"_What do you mean?"_

Alpha shook his head. "It's not important anymore. It was a long time ago. Everything is different now."

Alpha took a few steps into the sunlight. He moved his head to the right as he shielded his eyes with his left wing. He wasn't used to such brightness. He continued to walk to the village, determined to find somepony that could help him. As he walked, he was aware that he was attracting attention because of how he acted. He began walking to the center of the Town square when he was stopped by a guard.

"You okay, colt? You seem lost." The guard said, looking at Alpha.

"I am not from around here. Where am I?" Alpha asked, his wing still covering his face.

"You are in Ponyville." The guard replied, tilting his head to one side in curiosity. "Lower your wing, colt. No pony here will hurt you."

Alpha slowly lowered his wing to his side, his face almost glowing in the sun light. The guard stepped back in horror and awe as he saw Alpha's face. Alpha slowly looked around himself and realized that he was being surrounded by ponies.

"_Alpha…I do not like this."_ Beta said, his voice growing cautious.

Alpha nodded in agreement with Beta. He watched as the unicorns and earth ponies closed in on him, not threating him but curious of him. Alpha stretched his metallic wing in an effort of pushing away the surrounding group. It worked, the group stepped back a few feet, giving Alpha some room.

"Who is he?" "Where is he from?" "What happened to his right wing?" "What happened to his face?" Alpha could hear the questions that the group was whispering. He stood silently, retracting his metallic wing, watching the group. He could feel Beta rising.

"Not now, Beta. This is not the time to do that." Alpha muttered as quietly as he could to Beta.

Beta listened to him and stopped.

"No pony here will hurt you." The guard repeated, slowly moving toward Alpha.

"I am just lost. I am not from around here. I don't have a home." Alpha said aloud, addressing not just the guard but the whole crowd. "I am willing to work for food and a place to sleep. I have a knack for welding." He said.

"If you can weld, you can work at my place." A grey stallion with a brown mane replied. "I will pay you on how well you can repair metal. If it is a good repair, clean and accurate, you will be paid. If it is a bad repair, dirty and messy, you will not be paid."

"When do I start?" Alpha replied, looking at the stallion.

"You start when you show me how much you know on welding. Follow me." The stallion said, walking away. Alpha trotted after the Stallion, the crowd watching him leave.

"What is your name?" Alpha asked the stallion.

"The name's Smith." The stallion replied. "And what is your name?"

"You can call me Alpha." Alpha said.

"You got a last name, Alpha?" Professor asked.

"I don't know." Alpha commented.

"Well Alpha, when we get to the work station, I want you to show me what you know."

"Ok." Alpha replied as they walked to the repair station.

When Smith asked Alpha what he knew, he was stunned. Alpha knew more about welding than any other stallion/mare the Smith had ever met. Smith gave Alpha a left wing glove, a mask, and a welding torch, and told him to get to work.

At the end of the day, Alpha had a pouch of 32 bits. He was able to repair everything the station had to repair. Every repair was accurate and clean. Smith was expecting Alpha to be a colt who was exaggerating everything he said. But Alpha was not exaggerating. He wasn't even tired. This was considered as a rare break at the RF. Once he was paid and was told that he could leave, he asked Smith where he could get buy some food. Smith gave Alpha a map of Ponyville. Alpha thanked him for the map and walked out of the station. Looking at the map for directions, Alpha made his way to the town's market. He then bought and ate some food. After he was done eating, Alpha checked the map to see if there was any place to spend the night.

"_It's been so long since I was here. Everything has changed." _Beta said.

"I know." Alpha replied.

Alpha walked to the EverFree forest. He explored the forest and found the oak tree he hit the day before. He moved on from the tree, turned a right and walked on. After about 15 minutes, he had found a cave. He checked inside the cave for anything that could hurt him. The cave was surprisingly big; Alpha had walked about 3 minutes when he hit the end of the cave. Satisfied with what he found, he walked to the entrance of the cave and, with Beta's help, was able to create a fire with some nearby tinder. Once he thought the fire could last for a bit, he walked out of the cave, and cut some trees and branches with his metallic wing. He then dragged the wood he cut with his wing and went back to his cave. The fire was still blazing. He dragged the wood 1/5th of the way into the cave, and gave the fire some more wood. Alpha watched as the fire caught the wood he had given it and grew. Alpha relaxed as he lied down on the cold rock floor. He took off his metallic wing, freeing his burnt wing, and carefully examined it as if he had just noticed it for the first time.

"_It's amazing, how such a small thing can do so much."_ Beta said, referring to the fire.

"I like it. I have never seen it this big. I have seen fire before, but that was with my welding torch. It's…" Alpha paused as he tried to figure out the right word. "It's…It's…"

"_It's comforting."_ Beta said, finishing Alpha's comment.

Alpha fell silent. For an hour, neither Beta nor Alpha spoke. Alpha was putting more wood on the fire when Beta spoke.

"_You never told me you lived in Ponyville."_

"You never asked."

"_What happened before you were in the RF?"_

"It really doesn't matter." Alpha said as he watched the fire.

"_To me, it does. Don't worry. I won't be afraid of you."_ Beta said sarcastically.

Alpha got up and walked past the fire into the open area in front of the cave. "I'm not afraid of me scaring you. I know I won't. It's just a part of my life that I don't look back on. It does nothing but bring back bad memories when I think of it. I try to avoid the subject." He looked up and gazed at the night sky. "But if you really want to know…" Alpha let out a long sigh.

"I was born 13 years ago. I had parents; a mom and dad who loved me, or so I thought. I was abandoned by my parents when I was five.I remember it so clearly, as if it happened yesterday." Alpha said, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

"They brought me to a park one day, telling me to go play with some colts. When I ran after the colts, I looked back to see my parents leaving. I ran after them, asking where they were going…" Alpha lowered his head, tears streaming down his face. "They told me that they had forgotten something back at home, and were going to go get it and come back. I was a fool. I replied okay, and ran after the colts. When all the colts began leaving with their parents one by one, I began to wonder when my parents would come back. I had no idea where I was. I stayed at the field until it became dark when I began to realize what had happened…" Alpha paused as he struggled to regain control of his feelings.

"I became a stray. I began to steal food to eat. I would stay in the alleyways to sleep. I tried to join in with the other strays, but they would never allow me to join. They always ran away from me when I came to them." Alpha wasn't crying as hard as he was earlier. "I was eight when I was caught by the guards for stealing some apples… After that, well, you know the rest."

"_I didn't know. I always presumed you were a stray, but I never knew how you became one." _

"Remember the time when you told me that you were afraid that I would be afraid of you?"

"_What about it?"_

"What I said was true. I would never be afraid of you; you were and still are the only pony I am able to actually trust; that I could call a friend. No pony has treated me like the way you do."

"_I'm not leaving you. I will never leave you."_ Beta said, trying to comfort him.

"I know. Thanks." Alpha said, looking at the fire as it slowly turned to red, smoldering coals.

Alpha walked to the fire and gave it a few more branches. He then lied down on the cold rock floor, and tried to fall asleep. Sleep eventually came, and when it did, Alpha embraced it as fast as he could.

He always hated talking about his past; about his parents; about his life before he knew Beta.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: A message

It has been 5 days since Alpha and Beta destroyed and escaped the Rainbow Factory. They were still trying to get used to civilian life. Today was really strange for Alpha because it was a Saturday. Alpha got up at the same time he used to get up at the factory, and walked to the repair station. But when he got there, it was closed. Alpha was confused. Smith saw Alpha waiting outside of the station and walked out of his cottage to talk to him.

"Colt, what are you doing?" Smith asked Alpha.

"Oh, there you are." Alpha said, "I'm here to work."

"Work?" Smith asked, confused. "What do you mean by work?"

"Repair metal." Alpha replied casually.

"You are aware that it is Saturday, right?" Smith asked.

"Huh?"

"It is Saturday. We don't work on weekends."

"Why not?"

"Because no-pony works on the weekends."

"Oh…"

Smith faced-hoofed, "Alpha, you really need to tell me where you are from."

Alpha shook his head. "It's…" Alpha looked for the right word. "It's a personal story."

"Will you at least tell me about your metal wing?"

"No, sorry," Alpha replied.

"That's a shame." Smith frowned. "Well, have a good day."

"Wait, what do I do then?" Alpha asked.

Smith looked at Alpha, dumbfounded. "Do what you want." He said, leaving Alpha outside, as he walked back into his cottage. Alpha watched as Smith closed the door. He was confused; he had never had a day off at the Rainbow Factory. It was either work or be punished, tortured, and die. There was no such thing as a "day off" or a "weekend" at the factory. Alpha just stood there, looking at the Repair Station, trying to make sense of why he wasn't allowed to work.

"All I know is working. This is so weird." Alpha said aloud, wondering about what he should do.

"_Well, if we aren't allowed to work, we may just go and explore the village. Get our bearings."_

"Good idea." Alpha said as he walked off to the town market.

While walking to the town market, Alpha saw a mirror shop. The thought of being able to see Beta again made Alpha gallop to the shop, his bit pouch bouncing off his chest as he ran. He slowed to a trot as he walked into the shop. Alpha stood in amazement as he was surrounded by mirrors of all shapes and sizes. There were mirrors the size of his hoof to the size of the walls he saw in the Factory. He laughed in pure bliss. He thought of seeing Beta again. He was about to ask the store manager, a grey mare, how much were the mirrors the size of his hoof when she spoke.

"Oh, how I love this song!" the mare said; her eyes closed as she listened to the song. She opened her eyes to see Alpha waiting. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there."

Alpha looked at her, his head tilted to the right.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" The mare asked, nervous.

"What did you say?" Alpha asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"When I came in here, you said something about loving this…this…"Alpha struggled to remember what she said.

"Song?" The mare inquired.

"Yes! That is it. What is it?" Alpha exclaimed.

"What is what?" The mare asked.

"What is a song?" Alpha repeated.

"I don't understand. What do you mean "What is a song?"? "

Alpha was starting to get annoyed by the mare. He was trying to find out what a song was and was thinking that the Mare was teasing him."What is a song? What does it do? Can I buy a "Song" ?"

"If you want to buy songs, you are in the wrong shop. Go to the music shop, I'm sure they can help you there." The mare replied, still confused as ever by Alpha's question.

"Ok. Where is this "Music" shop?" Alpha asked.

Once the mare told Alpha where the shop generally was, he left at once to find it. After half an hour of searching the village, he finally found the shop. He uneasily stepped into the shop, not sure of what to do. The store was filled with Vinyl discs.

"Welcome to Vinyl's Music Store. How can I help you?" Said a voice to Alpha's left. He looked to his left to see a very eccentric, light and dark blue-haired unicorn, looking at him. The mare had a pair of giant purple shades, and a symbol on her flank. Alpha was still confused on why ponies had pictures and symbols on their flanks. He didn't have one. Was he supposed to have one? He kept looking at her symbol, trying to understand what it was and what it meant.

Vinyl was staring at Alpha, who was staring at her. She moved to her right, and watched as Alpha's eyes followed her. She then realized that he was staring at her flank.

"Stop staring at my flank, colt! I'm already taken." She yelled as soon as she realized what Alpha was doing.

"What?" Alpha replied, taken back by what he heard. "I'm not staring at your flank, I'm looking at- wait, what!?" He said, confused as ever.

"That's right. I'm already taken." Vinyl said, walking up to Alpha. "So stop staring at it!"

"I was not staring at your flank. I was looking at the symbol on your flank. Besides, it doesn't matter to me if you are already taken." Alpha said firmly. "I am just here to ask you a question."

"Oh really?" Vinyl asked, annoyed. "Go ahead, ask it."

"Do you know what a song is?" Alpha asked calmly.

"DO I KNOW WHAT A SONG IS?!" Vinyl raged. "Are you an Idiot, Colt? Of course I know what a song is. I am Vinyl Scratch. I make songs! Who doesn't know what a song is?!" Vinyl looked at Alpha. Alpha felt Beta rise within him, seeing Vinyl as a possible threat. Vinyl watched as Alpha's eye color changed from brown to red then back to brown as Alpha told Beta to calm down.

"I'm sorry if I offended you earlier. I'm not from this place- this village." Alpha told Vinyl. "I was in another shop when I heard the term "Song" and asked the shop manager what she meant. She did not understand my question and told me to come here, saying that you could help me." Alpha explained.

"Oh. I didn't know. I'm so sorry for raging at you like that." Vinyl said embarrassed at the way she acted. "To answer your question, a song is a short poem or other set of words set to music or meant to be sung."

"Oh, and what are those" Alpha asked, nodding toward the vinyl discs behind her.

"These are Vinyl discs. You insert one of these babies on a Vinyl Record and you can listen to the song it has." She explained.

"These Vinyl discs," Alpha continued to ask. "When were they first made?"

"Oh, 'bout 1000 years ago, right after Nightmare Moon was banished." Vinyl said in a cheery tone. "We have this one disk that we aren't allowed to play though. We have specific rules from Princess Celestia not to play it." Vinyl bragged. "No pony knows what is on that record that Celestia doesn't want heard, but there is a legend behind it that record."

"What do you mean?" Alpha asked.

Vinyl went into the back room of the store and came out with a Vinyl disc. The disc was covered in old cobwebs and dust. She walked to Alpha with the disc.

"Legend goes that 900 years ago, a dark earth pony by the name of Beta slaughtered hundreds of ponies; hundreds upon hundreds of them, here in Ponyville. He was a mutant; able to use light and dark magic, Beta killed any pony he saw. Eventually, after many attempts to halt the monster, Celestia used the Elements of Harmony, the same elements she used against her own sister 100 years before, against him. But Beta was strong. He was able to with-stand the power of the Elements of Harmony. And with that, the two battled each other. Beta was pretty awesome; he was able to fight for a few days before he was obliterated by the magic of the Elements. This disc," Vinyl explained, as she nodded to the disk floating beside her. "This Vinyl disc is said to be made by Beta's parents the very next week after he was defeated. No pony knows what is on it." Vinyl watched as Alpha's eye color slowly turned from dark brown to blood-red.

"_Mom…." _Beta said. _"Alpha, it is important that I listen to that message!" _

"Can I listen to that disc?" Alpha asked.

The door to the store opens as Octavia walks in to see Vinyl and Alpha talking, the forbidden disc hovering in between them. "Vinyl, What are you doing!?" she screams, as she closes the store door as fast as she could, switching the OPEN sign to CLOSED. "Are you mad? That disc is not allowed to the public! Celestia came in here and told us that herself!" She walks in front of Alpha, grabbing the disc with one hoof, and starts walking to the back room. "I'm sorry colt, but we are now closed. You need to leave. I need to talk to Vinyl PRIVATELY. Vinyl, come here."

"I will do anything to listen to that disc!" Alpha said, placing a hoof on Octavia's shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. "Please, I promise I won't come in here again. I can pay. I need to listen to that disc."

"No! Princess Celestia said this disc is never to be played." Octavia said, shrugging off Alpha's hoof.

"I will do anything, anything you want. I just need to listen to that disc." Alpha begged.

Octavia walked up to Alpha, Her face level to his face. "Anything?" She asked, smug.

"Anything." Alpha confirmed.

"Take off your metal brace." She asked.

"What!? I can't." Alpha exclaimed, surprised.

"Well, if you can't, then you aren't going to hear what is on this disc." Octavia said, slowly walking away.

"Wait! I'll show you. I'll show you. Do you have a place that isn't very public?" Alpha said, looking at the windows. "It's not really something every pony should really see, but if I show you, you must promise that you will let me hear the disc."

"I promise. Come, this way." Octavia said, nodding to the back room. Alpha followed her, with Vinyl trailing behind him. Once in the room, Alpha walked past Octavia and turned around to face the two ponies. Alpha grinded his teeth in pain as he slowly flexed his right-wing and took off the brace, freeing the burnt wing from the metal.

Octavia screamed in disgust and turned her head away as she saw the burnt wing, her hoof covering her eyes. Vinyl, on the other hoof, stared at the wing in awe. She was amazed that someone could build a wing that could replace an actual wing out of metal. Alpha lowered his head in shame.

"Put it back on! Put it back on!" Octavia screamed, still not looking at Alpha. Alpha put back on the metal brace, the metal in his bones easily sliding into the magnetic pocket of the wing.

"It's back on." Alpha said, flexing his wing; making sure that it was still working properly. "Now, as you promised."

"I know what I promised. Vinyl, bring him to the record room. Place the disc in the record, and show this…" Octavia struggled to find the right word. "…this colt how to use it. Then come back out here."

Vinyl nodded to Octavia and walked Alpha to the record room. The room was small. Only having room for 2 and the record, Vinyl show Alpha the basics on how to use the record. She then placed the disc on the Record, showed Alpha where the ON button was, and left the room, closing the door as she walked out.

Alpha looked back at the door, making sure it was closed, then looked at the record. "Are you ready, Beta?"

"_Just play it." _

Alpha pushed the play button and relaxed as he felt Beta take over, listening to record.

"_Beta, I hope you are listening to this." _A female voice said through the speaker.

"_Mom…" _Beta said, realizing who it was.

"_Beta, I want you to know that we, your father and I, have always loved you. We have always loved you and will forever continue to love you even when we have passed through this world. I'm sorry that your friends left you. We did not want this to happen to you. We wanted you to have a normal life. We didn't want you to be in pain. Since you were born, we always knew you were very special."_ Beta's mother stopped. Alpha could hear her crying in the message. Another voice came in, this time it was a male voice.

"_Beta, this is your father speaking. I hope you can hear us, son. We only have a short time before Celestia finds out what we are doing. I am hiding this disk in your bedroom, under your bed. I want you to know that I understand why you did what you did. I can understand the pain you went through; the hate, the isolation, the feeling of being hated by every pony you saw."_

The record slowly starts to skip.

"_Beta, this is your mother again. We have to go sweetie. I don't think we will be able to talk to you again like this. Just remember that we always loved you, and will be with you where you are. We will see you soon, don't worry. Goodbye. We love you." _

The record starts to violently skip then slowly comes to a halt, its tune slowly repeating in Alpha's mind. Alpha took out the disc and felt relieved, realizing it wasn't what he was feeling but what Beta was feeling. Beta was relieved that his parents understood why he did what he did. He felt understood. He felt loved. Alpha stood still for a minute, trying to remember the last time he had felt loved. He then shook his head, not wanting to remember any of it. Alpha turned around to see both Octavia and Vinyl staring at him as his colors slowly returned to their original color as Beta let Alpha take over again. He walked to Octavia and gave her the disc. Octavia, annoyed by Alpha for listening to the disc against Celestia's orders, quickly took the disk out of his hands.

"I'm sorry for disgusting you earlier with my wing. It was important and I thank you for allowing me to listen to the disc." Alpha said to Octavia. He then turned to Vinyl.

"There is nothing that can harm any-pony on that disc. The legend is true, it is a message from Beta's parents 1 week after Beta was defeated. This also means that Beta was real and alive at one time. What is on that disc gives another view on Beta. It tells that Beta wasn't always evil. It gives a hint, a clue on what happened to him that made him become evil." Alpha sighed. "Don't break Celestia's rule and listen to that disc. She is trying to protect every-pony in Equestria. Although I do not agree on her ways of protecting ponies, I understand that she is doing her best. I listened to that disc because I am one of the few ponies that she is not trying to protect, but is trying to hide from Society. Thank you for allowing me to listen to it. "

Vinyl watched as Alpha walked out of store and then looked at Octavia. "I told you the legend was true! You never believe me when I tell you things like that!" She said, laughing as she grabbed the disc from Octavia's hoof and walked to the back room to put it where it belonged.

Alpha was on his way to the forest when it started to rain. Instead of running to his cave for shelter, he stopped and looked up watching as each drop of rain slowly start to fall one by one from the clouds. Alpha felt, for the first time in his life, at peace. He opened his eyes and slowly starting walking back to his Cave. Although soaking wet and cold, Alpha wasn't complaining. Once back at the Cave, he created a small barrier of branches, leaves, and stones at the entrance of the cave to stop any water from flooding the cave. Starting up a small fire, using some tinder and the branches he brought in last week, Alpha dried other water in his mane and tail. He then took off his metal wing, like he always does when he is in his cave and lied down on the ground. Alpha was tired and soon drifted to sleep, listening to the fire crackle and the rain pour outside the cave, the sound echoing off the walls.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Alpha's Revenge

Luna was watching Alpha, her Nightmare Moon armor; another variant of _the Dragon Metal_, glowing in a Galaxy-blue shade, covered all but her face. She sneered as Alpha turned to face her. "It's been a long time since I met a pony from my Era. Let's play Royal Tag, Beta."

-Earlier that day-

"It's too easy now. I won't learn anything new from doing it again." Alpha complained.

"_Well, we don't have another place to go train. If we train in public, some pony is bound to find you talking to me." _Beta replied, annoyed.

"It's too dark to train my speed anyway. Let's go to back to the cave. We can figure out what to do when we get there" Alpha said, his legs starting to shake from exhaustion. He was sweating and his mouth was painfully dry.

"_Remember to drink water, Alpha. Last thing we need is for you to have a heat-stroke. It's one of the few things I cannot tone down the pain, and you don't want to know what it feels like."_

Alpha sat down and took off his bag. He lifted the flap and reached inside, grabbing a jar of water. He un-capped the lid and took a gulp of the cold liquid as he looked back on the events that happened leading up to this day.

It has been 3 weeks since Beta heard the Forbidden Vinyl disc at Vinyl's shop. After that day, Beta felt complete, he felt whole. For a week, Beta did not talk. Only until Alpha reminded Beta that he was still confused on why he was punished but not killed did Beta start making a plan. Alpha and Beta would break into the castle and find out why Alpha was punished but not killed. But both Alpha and Beta weren't in shape to even walk to the castle, let alone break in. Instead, they began to train. Beta would focus on sharpening his magic ability while Alpha relearnthow to properly fly. Beta calculated that if Alpha used a similar amount of concentration and willpower that he had before used to create his wing on training, they would be able to break in to the castle in a year.

Unbeknownst to Beta and Alpha was the raw power of friendship that was surging through the bond which connected Beta with Alpha. Since Alpha first met Beta in the Rainbow factory, the bond began to grow. It became stronger and more powerful. What Beta and Alpha failed to realize was the raw power that was surging through the bond that they shared together had changed them physically and mentally. In 3 weeks, Beta and Alpha were way ahead of Schedule.

Alpha had self-taught and trained himself how to fly again. Once he learnt the basics of flying, he modified the way he flew. He could fly fast with incredible accuracy and stealth. While this was accomplished for most Pegasus by spreading out their wings as far as they could, it also made it hard for them to turn. For Alpha, he didn't need to worry about stealth for Beta could easily make him invisible to the naked eye. What he did need to worry about was turning. Although he mastered how to turn to his left, Alpha always felt nervous turning to his right. He had no reason to worry, the metal for his wing was incredibly light, but he always had sub-consciously thought it was heavy based on how it looked. He would always put too little weight on it, and spin out of control. Today, he had finally mastered his mind, and was able to turn to the right without any problem.

Beta had trained and honed his ability for magic. While creating and modifying spells, he came across a new ability. While Alpha was flying through some canyons, one of the giant archways had begun to collapse while Alpha was right under it. As the giant boulders rained down on Alpha's position, Beta had sub-consciously used magic to protect himself. The boulders moved out of the way, giving Alpha the time he needed to escape. While Alpha was flying away, Beta realized what just happened. He could use magic while Alpha was in control! He did not need to be in control of Alpha to use Magic. He could be able to defend Alpha when he was flying. He stopped creating new spells and started to hone his new ability for a week. At the end of the week, Beta was not only able to do magic, but was able to cloak Alpha for short periods of time and increase his hearing and sight.

Alpha closed the jar with the lid, placed the jar inside his bag, and put the bag back on, placing the strap under his metallic wing.

"_Better?"_ Beta asked.

"Much. Thanks." Alpha replied feeling relieved.

"_Don't mention it. Now let's get back before it gets too dark to see where we are going." _

Alpha nodded in agreement and set off into the sunset. He was passing Ponyville when something caught his attention. He was starting to turn to toward the EverFree forest when he looked down to see some royal guards placing a stray in a barred wagon.

"_That's weird."_ Beta said.

After they shut the door to the wagon, the guards strapped themselves into the front of the wagon and took off.

"That cannot be good" Alpha said as he watch the guards fly off, heading to Cloudsdale. He at once set off, following them, totally forgetting about going to his cave.

"_Where do you think they are going?" _Beta asked.

"Where else?" Alpha said, picking up speed. Beta was silent for a full heartbeat.

"_No! That isn't possible! You destroyed it!" _Beta replied as he realized what Alpha was thinking.

"It isn't impossible." Alpha said as he landed on a cloud, looking over the Rainbow Factory. The part that was destroyed by Alpha 3 weeks ago, had already been rebuilt but Alpha could see the old from the new bricks used to rebuild it.. He watched as the guards landed near the back of the entrance. Once fully stopped, the guards unstrapped themselves, went to the back of the wagon and forcefully took out the stray and shoved him forward. Alpha felt Beta rise within him as he felt his own anger rising as well.

"Yeah, I know." He said, agreeing with Beta.

"_Are we going to destroy it?"_

"Of course, but first I want to make sure everypony in it is out of there and is long gone before we destroy it." Alpha said, watching the guards strap themselves onto the wagon and fly off.

He waited for a few seconds after they left, then in a single swift move, jumped off the cloud and flew to the back door of the RF. Two Security Guards were posted at the door. Alpha felt Beta rise as the back door was painted red. Once the guards were done, Alpha went through the door into a pitch dark room. His eyes, familiar to the darkness, instantly adjusted to the lack of light in the room. He looked around, and saw the machine; fully restored and working. Alpha placed his metallic wing on the wall next to him, placing another ball of light, this time colored black, on the door behind him.

"Don't let it spread just yet." Alpha told Beta.

"_Understood." _Beta replied as he modified the spell so he could set it off remotely.

Alpha began walking to the machine as he watched a green mare being crushed alive inside it. Alpha walked to the side of the machine and cut one of the pipes with his wing. Then, taking out an empty jar in his bag, Alpha filled the jar with the rainbow-colored liquid. "This will come in hoofy later on- wait..." Alpha hesitated as he closed the jar. He watched as the Rainbow-colored liquid turned into blood.

"_That's odd. Open the jar again." _

Alpha did and the blood returned to its rainbow-colored state.

"_That's how they get away with it." _Beta said, realizing how the RF has been hiding in plain view "_If it comes into contact with fresh air, it turns into colors..."_

"…If it doesn't, it turns into blood..." Alpha finished. He closed the jar once again, and placed it into his bag. "Come on, let's move." he said as he placed another charge inside the leaking pipe.

He turned to his left and saw a pair of white doors, walked through them and found himself in a long corridor. Picking up speed as he went from a trot to a near-full gallop, Alpha let his metallic wing cut into the floor, placing a long line of charged balls where he went. He went into a maze twists and turns, full of doors and hallways. Eventually Alpha found himself at the Cafeteria. He felt Beta rise within him. Beta was fully alert and ready for anything. He was deep in his enemy's territory and was not about to take any chances. Alpha put his head close to the door, listening for anything that would tell him he wasn't alone.

Nothing, not a sound was made. Once he felt sure that he was alone, Alpha slowly walked ahead, toward the Cell block. He felt Beta's anger rose with his own as he looked around. There were more cells than Alpha ever knew. He stared at hundreds upon thousands of cells; each containing a Pegasi. Beta ripped open the door to Alpha left. The alarm went off as Alpha walked into the cell and was confronted by a Pegasus. His face was covered in dried blood, no doubt from a guard who wanted something to do.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU ARE GOING TO GET US KILLED!" The Pegasus said freaking out.

"Destroying this factory." Alpha replied calmly without missing a beat. Beta set off the charges.

"It's you…" The Pegasus said, staring at Alpha. Alpha looked back and recognized the Pegasus. It was the stallion that gave him the wet cloth after Alpha saved the red mare 3.5 years ago. "They said you died when you disappeared 3 weeks ago but I knew they were lying."

"What are you willing to give to destroy this facility?" Alpha asked the Pegasus as he walked out of the cell, the Pegasus following him.

"If I need to, I will lay down my life to destroy this facility."

"What is your name?"

"The name is John." John replied.

"Well John, tonight you will be free." Alpha replied, smiling. John looked around as each cell door was being brutally ripped off its hinges.

"How are you doing that?" John asked, as he looked at Alpha.

"I can do things most Pegasi can't." Alpha replied, his right eye glowing blood-red.

"_We don't have much time, the guards will be here any minute and I doubt they will be happy to see us." _

"All in good time." Alpha replied casually as he gestured John to look up. The ceiling had begun to glow in a myriad of colored balls, and slowly started to dissipate. Alpha could hear the sound of the guards' hoofs galloping on the floor as they ran toward the cell block. "John, I need to you do me a favor."

"Anything."

"Take this," Alpha said, giving his bag to John. "Once you are far away from the Factory, go to Ponyville. Find a unicorn called Vinyl Scratch. Take out and show her the jar of blood in the bag. Open the jar of blood when she sees it. Tell her everything about this factory. Tell her that "The Pegasus with the Metallic wing wants to speak with you as soon as possible." Go now!"

"What about you?!" John said as he put on the bag.

"Somepony has to distract the guards. I will be fine. Get everypony out of here. Get a group of Pegasi and free the foals and colts in the Machine room! GO!" Alpha said.

John nodded. He turned around and gathered some Pegasi and flew out of the non-existent ceiling. Alpha looked behind him and started to trot to the oncoming hoard of guards. He watched an seemingly endless stream of angry-as-hell guards gallop towards him with a thirst for blood.

"Are you ready?" Alpha asked Beta.

"_For this? Always."_

The first 30 guards were instantly liquefied. The guards behind them didn't even flinch. Alpha took off, galloping with both wings fully extended, toward the guards. He ducked under a guard's right-hook hoof and sliced him in two.

"_Right!" _

Alpha took a step back, narrowly dodging a wing, and elbowed the attacking guard, breaking his neck.

"_Left!" _

Alpha jumped over another, Beta creating a puddle of blood.

"_Right!"_

The Pegasus kicked the oncoming guard, creating an arc of blood.

"_Left!" _

The white skin started to turn red.

"_Above you!" _

The metal wing swung upwards, the guard did not have the agility or the skill to turn.

"_Below you!"_

Alpha sidestepped to the right as a guard broke through the floor. Beta lit the flying Pegasi's wings on fire

"_2 o'clock!" _

"Wha-oof!" Alpha met head on with a right-hook hoof.

"_4 o'clock" _

"Fuck that." Alpha replied as he ducked, his wing slicing the guard's legs off.

The guards stopped to regroup around Alpha. Alpha was breathing heavily, his scar was open and bleeding, and he was stained in blood.

"_There are too many for you." _

"I know. Want to take over?"

"_With Pleasure."_

Alpha felt Beta start to take over as the color of his Mane, Tail and Eyes slowly turned blood-red

Alpha started to laugh.

"What's so funny colt? There are hundreds of us and only one of you."

"It's funny," Alpha said as he stopped laughing. _"You are going to need a lot more guards to kill us." _Beta replied. _"What are you waiting for? Let's see if you can defeat me."_

The main guard ran at Beta. Beta sneered as he destroyed the guard.

"Behind you!"

Beta kicked the guard behind him with both hind legs. The skull shattered and bits of bone flew out of the hole made by Beta's hind legs on the side of his face

"Left!"

Beta held out his left hoof and caught the attacker by the neck. He looked at the guard with a dark grin and crushed his neck.

"Right!"

Beta ducked, the metallic wing extended, cutting off the legs of the guard. The guard, legless kept moving through the air however and Beta helped him along by giving his flank some extra power. The guard's face slammed into the concrete wall, instantly crushing his face.

"Left!"

Beta looked at the guard at his left. The guard froze in fear and began to gallop away. Beta didn't allow him. He opened a portal into hell right in front of the fleeing pony. He ran into the portal and Beta closed the portal, laughing his flank off at what he just witnessed.

"Right!"

Beta sub-consciously destroyed the attacking guard, so he was confused why he didn't see anyone come at him when he looked to his right

"Above you!"

Beta waited for the last possible second and sidestepped to his right, letting the Pegasus to slam into the floor. Beta then stomped on the Pegasus's head, killing him.

"Below you!"

Beta turned the floor beneath into concrete. _"That pony ain't comin' though."_

The guards kept coming and coming and Beta kept killing them non-stop. He was a master at death. After an hour of non-stop killing, no more guards came. Beta let Alpha take control. He wiped his face of blood clean as he looked around. There were bodies everywhere. Some were groaning. For those who groaned were killed as Alpha stomped on their head with his hoof. He took a deep breath.

"Good job."

"_Thanks. You did a good job as well." _

"Not as great as you did."

"_No-pony is as good at killing as I am. But you would make me notice you."_

Alpha chuckled. "At least I know why you killed this time."

"_Don't bring that up now, I'm in a good mood." _

"Fine. I'm tired as hell, Let's leave."

"_You should take a shower first, I doubt you want to go into Ponyville covered in dried blood." _

"The shower room has already been destroyed," Alpha said as he looked behind him. "We can wash up somewhere else. But I really want to leave this place before more Ponies get here."

"_Good idea. Let's go." _

Alpha spread both wings and flew off through the celling. Once far enough away he turned, his back facing toward the moon, and watched as the RF burned and was destroyed.

"_Aww shit." _

"What?"

"_Behind you." _

Alpha turned around to see a mare with a horn and wings, flying behind him, staring at him. She had dark blue skin and her mane glittered like the night sky. She had a moon symbol on her flank.

Luna was watching Alpha, her Nightmare Moon armor; another variant of _the Dragon Metal_, glowing in a Galaxy-blue shade, covered all but her face. She sneered as Alpha turned to face her. "It's been a long time since I met a pony from my Era. Let's play Royal Tag, Beta."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: _"It's much harder to escape than to break in."_

Alpha stared at Luna with fear. He wasn't scared of her. He was scared that she knew about Beta. She could screw up his one and only chance at finding out his reason.

"_Shit."_

Luna's horn began to glow as she fired a spell at Alpha.

"_DOWN!" _

Alpha instantly stopped flapping his wings, and dropped like a rock, missing the incoming spell by mere centimeters. He spread his wings and banked hard left, flying into the factory. He broke through a disintegrating wall and kept flying.

"Focus on protecting us from her spells; I'll get us out of this mess!" Alpha told Beta. "Fire back if you must, but non-lethal spells only, I don't want her to die just yet."

"_Don't worry about me, focus on your flying!" _

Alpha banked hard right and left as he flew through the collapsing facility. He saw flashes of light on the walls and knew that Beta was fighting off Luna as best as he could. Alpha flew to the floor and landed. He set off down the corridor and took a left into pitch blackness. He slowed his breathing and listened. He heard the sound of hoofs hitting the ground as Luna landed, looking for Alpha. She walked toward his position, not able to see due to the lack of light.

"It's pretty dark inside here, Alpha. Don't let the monsters catch you." Luna said aloud with a grin.

"The only monster I can see isn't within me." Alpha responded.

"I am a guardian when compared to Beta. Did you know he killed ponies? He slaughtered them for fun."

"_Don't always listen to your sister, Luna. She banned you to the moon for 10 centuries, or have you forgotten that already?" _Beta replied. _"She is hiding something from us, you have to admit that." _

"Don't you dare talk about Princess Celestia. My sister has never lied to me. She banished me to protect me and Equestria. She has no reason to lie to me."

"_She has nothing to lose to lie to you. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have anything to gain. If you are who your reputation says you are, then you protect and visit colts and fillies dreams, right?" _

"That is correct, but why should it matter to you?"

"_Do you remember any of my dreams when I was alive or any of Alpha's dreams?" _Alpha had begun to move around in the darkness. His eyes, already used to being in the dark, had adjusted instantly and were able to see Luna. Luna was blind. She couldn't see a damn thing, but could hear Alpha's steps and breath.

"I do not protect those who kill."

"_Don't be so naïve, Luna. I was a mutant before I had my…incident. I was a victim. I don't remember you visiting me in my dreams."_ Beta said, circling Luna.

"That was 900 years ago, Beta." Luna said with fear in her voice. "I was still Nightmare Moon on the moon."

"_That may be so, but you weren't in Alpha's dreams when he was in the RF; before I met him. And even after I met and helped him, you were never there, never visited, never protected. That was 3 years ago." _Alpha was in front of Luna. She had no idea that he was so close to her. He was using the walls to bounce his voice to sound like if he was everywhere at once.

"I was still on the moon." Luna said, moving her head left and right, trying to hear his breath.

"_WRONG! Before I bonded to Alpha, I watched you. You were at the Castle. You banished on the moon for 900 years, not 1000 years. You stayed at the Castle with your sister. You slowly revealed yourself to the staff and guards of the Castle. I was watching you. The reason you haven't committed suicide from depression of being alone for 900 years is because of me. When you were on the moon, I was with you. The elements that banished you to the moon obliterated my body. I decided, after I found out that I was dead, to go to you. Do you have any memory of this? Or do you choose to forget it all? Choose to forget all that I have done for you and listen to the excuse of a sister that Celestia is?" _

"ENOUGH!" Luna screamed her voice full to the brim with fear. Her horn glowed red as everything in the room except for Alpha was engulfed in flames.

"_Shit, time to run." _Beta told Alpha.

"No shit Sherlock." Alpha replied as he ran past Luna and down the hallway. He took flight and took a hard right, flying out of a broken window. Once in the open, Alpha knew he needed to get somewhere safe.

"_Go to Ponyville, I doubt she will hurt an innocent pony there." _

"Let's hope so." Alpha said as he dived down and flew faster than he had ever dared to go towards Ponyville.

John was frantically looking for Vinyl. He was covered in his own blood but did not care, he needed to find this mare and fast before he was caught by the guards. As he was flying, he looked behind him to see if he was followed when he crashed into Octavia. Octavia and Vinyl were out for a stroll to see the sunset.

"I am so sorry, wasn't looking where I was flying." John said as he got up frantically, afraid he had made to much noise.

"Next time, watch where you are flying. Why are you in such a hurry?" Vinyl said as he helped Octavia up.

"I'm looking for somepony. It's important that I find her right away before anything else bad happens." John replied, looking around.

"Anything else bad happens? Who are you looking for?" Vinyl asked.

"A Unicorn called Vinyl Scratch. I have a message and a package from somepony for her. It is essential that I find her and give her it." He said; his heart racing. It was starting to get dark.

"Well you are looking for me. I am Vinyl Scratch. What's up?" She said, cheerfully.

John open Alpha's bag and took out the jar of blood. He held it up and showed Vinyl the jar. Octavia screamed and fainted. Vinyl looked at Octavia's unconscious body, then looked back at John, taking a step back.

"Is that Blood!? Why do you have a jar of blood? Why are you giving me a Jar of blood? Are you fucking sick?" Vinyl demanded.

"It's not just blood. Open the jar." John told Vinyl, his heart returning to normal.

"Why?"

"Don't ask why. Just do it."

Vinyl took the jar from John and opened it. She watched as the blood turned into a rainbow-colored liquid. Vinyl stared at the liquid then looked at John and saw the dried blood on his face. Her eyes widened as she slowly realized what the jar of blood meant.

"It's real? The Rainbow Factory is real?" She asked as she looked back at the jar.

"It was. I am from there. I was spared because I was able to lift heavy metal object with ease. The Pegasus with the metallic wing freed and sent me to find you. He wants me to tell you that he needs to talk to you as soon as possible." John said.

Vinyl closed the jar and watched as the liquid inside turned back into blood. "Why? Where is he from? What is his name? What do you mean "was"? Is it gone? What happened?" Vinyl asked.

"Slow down. He did not tell me why. I do not know where he is from. His name is Alpha. He…" John stopped as he stared at the clouds above him, his eyes widened as his jaw dropped.

"What? What did he do?" Vinyl asked, getting annoyed

"Sweet Celestia." John muttered.

"What are you looking at?" Vinyl asked as she looked where John was staring at. "I don't see anything."

"Coming from the clouds." Octavia replied. She had already gotten up and had been watching the glowing light fall from the sky. Vinyl looked up and saw the glowing orb fall.

But it wasn't a glowing orb. It wasn't a orb at all. It was two Pegasuses. One seemed to be chasing the other. The one chasing the other was inexplicably dark blue. The one being chased was white…or red. Vinyl wasn't sure.

"Luna….." Vinyl whispered. "What is she doing?"

"Chasing Alpha." John answered Vinyl, watching the spectacle, unable to do anything.

Alpha was flying straight down at a 90 degree angle. He was going as fast as his body could let him. He already broke through the sonic barrier, creating a halo of Red and Blue, which stunned Luna for a few seconds, but did not slow her down. He was already going too fast to stop. He leaned back hard and started to pull up. He pulled up away from the ground just at the last second, the air behind him crashed down into the dirt, creating a huge sound similar to what a cannon sounds like when fired. Beta was firing spell after spell at Luna to keep her at bay.

"_It's now or never, Alpha. We need to lose her." _

"I know, I know. She is just too fast. I can't seem to shake her off."

"Getting tired Alpha?" Luna said in a mocking fashion. "We have just begun to play. It would be a shame for me to win when we have just started."

"_Alpha, I'm running out of spells here. Do something!" _

"You might not like what I am thinking of doing."

"_I don't care what it is, just do it!"_

"Well, here goes nothing." Alpha banked hard up and right. He spun around and went onto an intercept course to Luna. "Stop firing and fire the brightest spell you got on my mark!" Alpha told Beta, the distance between him and Luna was closing.

"_Ready!" _Beta said.

Alpha waited until his front hooves were a hoof away from Luna's face when he banked hard left. "NOW!" He screamed. Beta shot off his spell. It rebounded off Luna and turned into a small sun, temporarily blinding Luna. Alpha was blinded as well, but not as bad as Luna. "SHIT!" He screamed as he covered his eyes, his wings giving out at the same time.

"_Why did you stop flying?" _

"My wings are too tired. They stopped flapping."

"_Shit. Try to land somewhere soft, like grass."_

Alpha painfully spread his wings as opened his eyes. He tried as hard as he could to glide to a softer area but it was no use. He was over a forest with no grassy hill or open patch of land in sight. He spotted a trail with some ponies on it and aimed there, hoping the ponies on the trail were friendly and would help him. Alpha braced for impact as he hurled toward the ground. He covered his face with both wings and curled up into a ball, tucking in his legs. He hit the ground with such velocity that the cement trail was pulverized where he hit. Alpha was somehow conscious, and got up slowly.

"Let's not do that again. Beta, are you all right?"

"_Yeah, I'm fine. I tried to slow down our speed by firing a spell at the trail, hoping it would rebound and hit us, which did not work out as I expected." _

"Did you think that the spell might kill us instead of slowing us down?"

"_I was in the moment. Wasn't really thinking, so no, I wasn't thinking that the spell could kill us. I was thinking that if we didn't slow down, we would paint the trail red and decorate it with bone, flesh and metal." _

"Well it worked. What you did made the impact a lot softer, but did not slow me down." He looked at his metallic wing. "Shit, this thing can take some serious damage before warping. There isn't a single scratch on it." Alpha said. He took a step forward and fell to the ground, exhausted. "So tired…."

"_I am not surprised. Your body will be hurting tomorrow. Let's go back to the cave."_

"Too tired….need…to...sleep…"Alpha said, his eyes nearly shut.

"_Then let me take over. I'll get us home."_

"….." Alpha was already asleep. Beta sighed as he took over manually, and got up. He looked up at the night sky, looking for Luna.

"_I hope she is alright. Didn't mean to hurt her badly, just temporarily blind her."_ Beta said to himself. He slowly walked on the trail, exhausted. He walked into Ponyville and found a public restroom with a public shower. _"Alpha, wake up. Found a shower, I think it has warm water. It will help you relax."_ Alpha didn't respond. _"Fine, your loss."_ Beta took off the metallic wing, setting it on the wall opposite to the stall. He then walked into the shower stall and twisted the knob, closing his eyes as he felt the warm water spray onto face. He washed the blood out of his skin and mane. He winced as the water hit his burnt wing. Beta heard the door open and close, but dismissed it as the wind outside and went back to washing his tail. Once he had washed all the blood out, he turned off the shower and walked out of the stall. He saw movement to his right but did not move. If it was Luna, he would be already dead. He looked to his right and saw Vinyl staring at him, his wing behind her.

"When were you going to tell me?" She asked.

"_Tell you what? That I am real? That the Legend is true? There is a lot that Alpha isn't telling any pony. I can't blame him. He has been through events similar that I went through when I was alive.."_

"So, you are Beta, right?"

"_That is correct." _Beta looked at Vinyl, his eyes, mane and tail glowing red. _"I am Beta."_

"You killed ponies 900 years ago because you could; because you wanted to; because it was fun hurting others. And now you are here to hurt more, right? Why else would you be here?"

"_You are correct about what I did when I was alive. You are not correct why I did it."_ Beta shook his head. _"I cannot tell you why I did what I did because you won't believe me. You won't understand why I killed so many ponies. I did have fun doing it, hurting others. But you have to understand Vinyl Scratch, one does not hurt others just because they can. They must have a reason to do so. I am not here to hurt more. I am here because Alpha needed somepony. He was alone and hurt when I met him. Since then, I have helped him through his life: I have toned down the pain he feels, kept him company, made sure he doesn't feel alone, and got him out of his personal hell. The Past doesn't always describe the pony. It tells another what they have done, what they have learned, but does not define that pony."_

"Stop rambling about, Beta. I know what you did. You killed ponies for fun. Once you self-taught yourself dark magic, you went insane. You went on a killing spree, flaying and torturing any pony you saw. You left no survivors, you spared no one. You are a murderer and a killer. You are a bully." Vinyl said, enraged.

"_I AM NOT A BULLY!" _Beta screamed. He stomped his front hoof down in anger and lowered his head as a ring of blue flames surrounded him, _"Like Alpha, you and countless others, I am a victim. Society was different when I was alive. I was a mutant, able to use magic. If you were a mutant back in my time, you would be hated by all Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasus, and Alicorns. I was hated, discriminated, bullied, beat up, attacked, and left to die." _Beta tried to control his temper. _"I only killed those who hurt me, who made it their life goal to make my life hell. I left survivors; I spared those who had been hurt by others. I killed and wiped out the bullies. I made sure that if I was to die, no mutant would be hurt again." _Beta looked up at Vinyl, not as angry as he was earlier, but still annoyed. _"I am a victim. When I first found Alpha, it was right when he lost his wing. I took control of his body and made sure those who hurt him were made to suffer. I saw my younger self inside him. He reminded me of myself before I went insane. So I bonded with him. I made myself a promise that I would do what I can, whatever I can to protect him. To make sure he does not follow in my hoofsteps." _Beta stared at Vinyl, the blue flames slowly turned orange as Beta considered Vinyl as a friend or an enemy. _"Don't you dare hurt Alpha or I'll rip off your horn from your skull. And before you ask, it is possible to do that. I have done it before."_

"Don't worry, I won't." Vinyl said, insulted by Beta but not wanting to get on his bad side. "So what are you here for?"

"_Alpha was punished for saving a red mare 1 week before his 11__th__ birthday. He was punished by having his wing taken off. The original punishment was to be killed but the guards said that they had special orders from the Princess to keep him alive. I am here to help Alpha find out what reason Celestia and Luna have to keep Alpha alive but hurt." _Beta explained. _"But I will leave that for when you talk to Alpha. For now, I need to get back to our cave. Alpha is extremely tired, and so am I." _Beta walked past Vinyl, grabbing and slipping on the metallic wing and headed to the door. Beta opened the door when he stopped and looked back at Vinyl. _"I'm sorry for getting angry earlier. It's a time I do not want to think about. I am glad Alpha met you, he finally has a pony he considers a friend and can trust that isn't within himself. Goodnight." _Beta walked out of the restroom to see Octavia and John waiting for Vinyl. He nodded to both and walked off to the forest.

Vinyl walked out of the restroom a short time later. She looked at John and Octavia before watching Beta walk into the forest.

"What happened in there?" Octavia asked Vinyl.

Vinyl looked at Octavia with a depressed look. "I'll tell you later." She looked at John. "Thanks for giving me the message and package. I'll keep them safe to give to Alpha when I see him again."

"Don't mention it. I owe him after what he did for me." John said, nodding to Vinyl. "I must go, It's been 5 years since I have seen my wife, I'm hoping to surprise her." He said as he flew off. "Goodnight to you both."

"Good night." Octavia said to John. She looked at Vinyl. Vinyl looked back at her with a concerned frown. "What's wrong, Vinyl?" She asked.

"It's nothing." Vinyl said, hiding her feelings with a smile. "Come on, let's go home. We've had a hell of a night tonight. I'll tell you when we get there." She told Octavia and started to head to her home.

Beta had just arrived at his cave. Not even bothering to start a fire, he turned around and laid down on the ground. He was exhausted from destroying the factory. He slipped of his wing and covered himself with it, using it as a make shift blanket. He put his head on his front hoofs and fell asleep fast.

If Beta were to look up before he fell asleep, he would have seen two white glowing ovals watching him….


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Her

Alpha groaned as he woke up. He was so stiff and sore from last night. He struggled to get up and heard his wing hit the ground when he did. Slowly picking it up and putting it on, Alpha walked out of his cave and headed for Ponyville. Beta was still asleep, so Alpha did what he could to not complain about being so sore. He walked into Ponyville to see a crowd of ponies arguing. He saw John in the midst of the crowd, looking seemingly lost, and decided to chat with him. He slowly made his way through the crowd.

"Behind you." Alpha said once he was close enough to him.

John looked behind him and saw Alpha smiling at him. "I was wondering if I would ever see you again. How are you, Alpha?" John asked, with a smile.

"I am very tired and sore. Luna was waiting for me once I left the facility." He shook his head and sighed. "That was pure hell. But besides that, I am doing okay."

"Luna? As in Princess Luna, Princess Celestia's sister?" John said, shocked.

"Do you know anyone else named Luna who knows where the RF was?"

"Well, that surprises me. What did she want?"

"Me to be dead. She chased me, firing spells and tried to trap me in the facility as it caught aflame."

"I have to ask, how did you survive against those guards? Even I can't fight against one and not come out without a broken bone."

Alpha gritted his teeth in pain as he extended his wings, stretching. "It's a long and personal story. But I trust you won't tell anyone. Come on, let's get something to eat. I'm starving." He started to make his way to the market.

"Hey wait up! I'm lost." John said as he followed Alpha into the market. "Gosh, it's been so long since I was in a market."

"I can see that. How long has it been for you?"

"I can't really remember." John closed his eyes in an attempt to remember. "About 6-8 years or so."

"Whoahohooa, longer than me." Alpha said. He took off his money pouch and took out about 30 bits and gave it to John. "Here, take his and get what you want. Once you are done, meet me at the town square. I will tell you there how I- "Alpha was cut off mid speech as an orange filly, a Pegasus, ran toward John.

"DADDY!" screamed Scootaloo as she ran to John.

"SCOOTALOO!" John yelled as he saw his daughter. He ran toward to her and embraced her in a hug. "It's been so long since I last saw you." He had tears streaming down his face as he hugged his daughter. "How I missed you!"

"Where were you all this time, Daddy?" Scootaloo asked, eccentric with finding her father after all these years of being alone. "The last time I saw you, I was with mom. You went out to get something to eat and never came back!"

"It doesn't matter where I went. All that matters is that I am here now. I will never leave you again." John said, crying. Alpha watched from a distance, giving John his space.

"_Damn I'm tired. What did I miss?"_ Beta said, finally waking up. Alpha didn't respond. He was watching John embrace his daughter. He stood there, frozen. _"Alpha, is something wrong?" _Beta asked, worried. Alpha wasn't paying attention to Beta, and Beta knew perfectly well why. Alpha had just witnessed a filly joining her father after being stuck in the Rainbow Factory for so long. Alpha turned around and walked away.

"….Celestia…." Alpha muttered, his rage rising. "She did all this, created all this pain, and for what: to make Rainbows?" He was now trembling, trying as hard he could to not let his rage out.

"_What will you do? You can't just go up to Celestia and say "Hey, you stupid fuck! Stop hurting others!" You won't be able to get to her without being attacked by the Guards and Luna. Even if you and I beat them all, Celestia has the Elements of Harmony. You and I aren't ready to handle that amount of magic!" _Beta explained to Alpha. _"I wasn't even ready for that type of power." _

Alpha shook his head, pushing away the thought of not being able to do anything and walked started walking to the forest. He got halfway there before he saw John being taken by guards. Scootaloo was right behind them, screaming.

"He hasn't done anything wrong! Let him go! Daddy, don't leave me!" Scootaloo cried.

"Your father is a murderer, a killer. He killed ponies before you were alive, and now the streets are safe because he is now off of them." The guard easily lied to Scootaloo.

Beta instantly took over and marched to the guard.

"Watch out, got another one, shall we bag 'im?" Said the private; a stallion in blue armor, nodding to the oncoming white Pegasus.

"No," said the Sargent. "We don't need anymo-" The Sargent instantly stopped talking as Beta shoved his wing to his neck, the metal gleaming in the sunlight.

"_LET. HIM. GO. He has done nothing wrong."_ Beta said in a growl.

"First off, You do not tell me what to do." The Sargent said, pushing Beta off with his hoof. "Second, I am a guard taking off a dangerous criminal off the streets." He began to push Beta backwards with his hoof.

"Guard, If I were you, I would back off." John said, his eyes widened with fear as he watched Beta. Beta was staring at the guard, his mane, tail, and eyes blood red.

"Shut up, when I'm done with this stray, I'm going to kick your flank." The Sargent told John. He looked back at Beta. "Thirdly, the next time we meet, if you ever tell me what to do, I will personally make sure you go to the Rainbow Factory and flayed alive. Do I make myself clear?"

Beta started to snicker then laughed his flank off, falling to the ground in uncontrollable laughter.

"What is so funny, stray?" The Sargent said.

Beta got up, wiping the tears of laughter off his face, then looked at the guard. _"First off, I will tell you what ever the fuck I want you to do." _His smile faded away as he pushed the guard back with his hoof._ "Second, that Pegasus is not a dangerous criminal, he is a fucking victim. If you want a dangerous criminal, you are talking to one." _The guard's eyes widened as he realized who he was talking to. _"Thirdly, I was at the Rainbow Factory. I was tortured, abused, hated." _With each word, Beta stepped forward on the guard, forcing him to retreat. "_The Rainbow Factory is no more. I don't give a fuck if John killed millions of ponies. He has been through hell and back. As for you," _Beta continued, _"Drop him and go tell your shitty princess what you saw. Tell her that I am here. Go. Now!" _

With that, the guards instantly dropped John and flew off as fast as they could, heading towards the Castle. Scootaloo ran to her father and embraced her. John looked at Beta as he gave Alpha control again, His color returning to its original phase.

"When were you going to tell me about him?" John said, hugging Scoot.

"When we would meet after you ate in town square." Alpha replied, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm down.

"You do realize that you will be seen as a monster now." John said as he walked up to Alpha, Scootaloo hiding behind him.

"I know what I did, and I am ready for the consequences." Alpha said, calmed down now. He looked behind John to see Scootaloo hiding behind his hind legs. "Cute filly. You are married I presume."

"Was. After I was taken from my family, my wife died of an illness. Scootaloo here, "John said, moving to the left, letting Alpha to see Scootaloo, "has been alone ever since."

"Really? Wow, she must be strong to live in a place like this with those types of guards walking around all the time." Alpha commented.

Scootaloo looked at Alpha's flank and realized he had not gained his cutie mark yet. She gasped in amazement. "You don't have your cutie mark yet!" She said, excited.

"I don't have my what?" Alpha asked, confused.

"Your cutie mark." Scootaloo asked.

"What's a cutie mark?"

"Wait." John said as he stepped into the conversation. "You don't know what a cutie mark is?"

"No, is that bad?" Alpha asked calmly, tilting his head to one side.

"A cutie mark represents the special talent that a pony can do. For example," John turned around and showed Alpha his cutie mark. It consisted of a metal bar and a hammer. "My cutie mark represents my talent to smith metal."

"Oh…okay." Alpha said with a confused face.

"You did not understand a word I said, did you?" John asked.

"I understand perfectly well. I just don't really care about my cutie-thingy." Alpha admitted.

"What do you mean you don't care? Do you not want to know what your special talent is?" Scootaloo said, surprised. "Every pony's special talent is different. It means that you are good at whatever your mark represents."

"I could not care about what my special talent is. It isn't something I'm worried about achieving." Alpha said, not trying to insult them.

"Why is your wing made out of metal?" Scootaloo asked, changing subject.

Alpha looked up at John, his right eye glowing red. "May I show her?"

John nodded. "Go ahead."

Alpha slowly took of his metallic brace, letting the sun hit the destroyed wing for the first time. He shut his eyes in agony as he flexed the wing as he stretched out. He heard a gasp and thought it was Scootaloo until Beta spoke.

"_Every pony is staring at you." _

Alpha looked around to see he was surrounded by ponies. Some were covering their children's eyes; others just stared at Alpha with their jaw open. He looked to his right to a white mare on the roof, watching him. _"We should leave now."_

The white mare had both wings intact but… something was out of place. Her eyes were different. Her eyes were purple. Then Alpha saw it. One eye flickered to green then back to purple.

Alpha was staring at the mare. John looked at Alpha then followed his eyes to where he was looking. He froze when he saw her. "Alpha," he said, his voice quivering. "Chill…" Alpha, without taking his eyes off her, slowly slipped his wing into the metallic pocket, his bones adjusting to its magnetic properties.

"_Those guards were fast as hell." _Beta said aloud.

"I'm not surprised, they are trained to respond on any danger and report to Celestia on the spot." John replied. "I'm sure you know why."

Alpha extended both wings and prepped for takeoff. She looked at him with a grin. Alpha instantly took off to the sky, banking hard right as he turned around away from her. She trailed after him. Once high enough, Alpha slowed to a halt and turned around to face her.

"Who are you?" Alpha asked.

"Well, since you are going to die soon, you might as well know who is going to end your life. I am Zeta." Zeta said with a boastful attitude. "But, there is no need to talk now. You will die."

Zeta fired a spell at Alpha. Alpha was stunned, Pegasus can't fire spells. He dived and flew off to the mountains, hoping that the curves and valleys would shake her off. Beta was firing spell after spell at Zeta, not aiming to kill but aiming to distract, to throw her off.

Alpha dived into a valley. He banked hard right and left, flew up and down as he dodged spells and rocks. Alpha was still sore from yesterday but he forgot about the pain. He took a right, flying through a hole and was hit by a falling rock. It bounced off his wing but threw him off balance. "Whoa." He said as he regained stability.

"_Another hit like that and we can die." _Beta said, cursing as he deflected and fired spell after spell. _"Be careful!" _

"Got it." Alpha took a hard left, spinning through the air, banked hard right and flew fast and low. Hitting a dead end, he banked hard left, fully turning around and flew straight at Zeta. He leaned to his right, barely missing Zeta and flew out of the valley, leaving her confused and lost, unable to understand what just happened.

"What the hell?" Zeta said, startled.

"_Dunno. Fast, agile and knows what to do in dangerous situations." _Gamma said with a chuckle. _"I wanna meet Beta the next time you meet him."_

"In your dreams Gamma, that act is a dangerous move. What would the Kingdom think when if I let you out? What would Luna say after she figured out what we are? She could have us killed; have us hunted Alpha and Beta are." Zeta replied, her eye glowing to green. "Besides, I have had you ever since I was forced to go to that Dreadful place."

"_You are aware that Alpha did destroy it, right? That is the reason Luna sent you to kill him." _Gamma sighed. _"It doesn't matter now. We might as go tell her our failure then… unless you have a better idea." _

"We know where he sleeps. At least we know that much of him."

"_Yeah, in that shitty ass cave of his." _

"Well you can't blame him. He has no home, no parents, and no family to go to. His parents abandoned him when he was a foal."

"_And Beta?"_

"Are you kidding? His house is said to be haunted by his own anger. No pony would go there. I doubt Alpha and Beta realize it is still standing." Zeta flew out of the valley and started heading for the Castle. "She is going to angry that I haven't killed him yet."

"_Don't worry about him. He is super sore and has no pony to help him, let alone care for him."_ Gamma said, snickering. _"Wear him out and he will be another easy kill for our count."_

"Yeah, I know. And yet, after what they both have done, I still feel bad for them. Oh well, let's go."

Zeta and Gamma flew off to the castle, unaware that Alpha and Beta were watching them.

"_So, we aren't alone with this gift. That's how she can predict what we can do so easily. She is going to cause a lot of problems."_ Beta said, watching Zeta.

"I know." Alpha replied as he took off and flew to Ponyville. I just can't believe it's her."

"_Who? Zeta?" _

"I can't remember her original name, but I know it isn't Zeta. I have seen her before, in the Factory, before I met you." He landed to see the market closing. He ran and had just enough time to buy some apples before everything closed down. He then flew to his cave. Beta was already asleep, and Alpha was soon following him. He landed roughly and walked into the cave. He had just turned around to face the entrance when he fell to the ground, dead asleep.

A bolt of lightning shot out of Alpha's forehead as Beta made sure Zeta wasn't watching.

"_Fucking bitch. Hate when ponies watch us sleep. It's fucking creepy as fucking hell."_ Beta said. He nestled inside Alpha's mind and drifted back to sleep.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Memories of the Forgotten

Alpha woke up with a start. He looked up to see the charred ground when Beta made sure they were alone and smiled as he lowered his head down, catching his breath. He looked to his side to see the apples he bought the night before and moved one to him with his hoof. He took a bite, savoring the taste in his mouth. The juice overpowered his mouth and started to foam. Alpha was half awake and started to choke on the juice. He coughed up the liquid and gasp for breath.

"_Don't do that again."_ Beta said, awake. _"Jeez, that was the worst way I have woken up in a while. What do you want?"_ He said, breathing heavily.

"Nothing, sorry, nearly fell asleep eating. What do you want to do today?" he replied.

"_We need to get our bag from Vinyl before we do anything else. We also need to find out who Zeta is and what she wants. Plus, I want to go see something…personal. I want to make sure it is still standing." _

That last part caught Alpha off guard. "Personal? Like what?"

"_It's not important now. We need to get our stuff back." _Beta said.

"Beta, are you okay?"

"_Yeah, why?"_

"That last part caught me off. What do you want to see?"

"_When we get there, I will explain what I meant. Let's just go get our stuff back."_

"Well, it is Sunday, which means her shop will not open." Alpha sighed. "Looks like we are going to see Octavia again." He groaned in pain as he got up, slipped on his wing and walked to Ponyville. Once there, he wished Beta had cloaked him.

Everypony was staring at Alpha, specifically his metallic brace. They stopped in his path, asking him to take it off and leave it off, but Alpha shook his head and said "No." It was pure hell for him.

"Why won't you take it off?" The ponies would ask.

"Because I don't want to, I feel weak, different. Without my wing, I can't fly. It's like removing your wings or your horn, it's part of you. It feels awkward without it." He would reply.

Eventually he got to Vinyl's place. He knocked on the front door and waited.

"One moment." A voice said within the cottage. The door opened and there stood Octavia. "Oh, it's _you_. What do you want?" She said, annoyed.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but Vinyl has my bag and jar. I was hoping to get them back." Alpha said calmly.

"Wait here. VINYL!" She screamed over her shoulder without taking her eyes off Alpha.

"What?!" Vinyl's voice came from upstairs.

"YOU GOT A VISITOR" Octavia screamed back. Alpha looked at her, amused at what was happening. He tried desperately to not laugh. He wasn't making faces, but was very close to do so.

"IM COMING DOWN." Vinyl said as she walked downstairs. "What's up?" She said as she looked at her friend. Her eyes met Alpha and she froze. "Oh, him."

"Hello Vinyl. I am just here for my bag and the jars inside." Alpha replied.

"Oh, yeah. Gimme a minute." She said. Vinyl ran back inside, grabbed his bag and threw it to Alpha. "Next time, don't send somepony to do your work." Octavia replied and slammed the door shut.

"_That could have gone a lot better." _Beta said as Alpha shouldered his bag and flew off.

"I'm not surprised though." Alpha said with a disappointed tone. "Anyway, before we go find out who Zeta is, let's go to your personal place."

"_Fine, the last time I remember it, it was near the edge of the village, north of here. We can get there much faster if you fly." _Beta replied uneasily. Alpha noted the uneasiness in Beta's voice as he took off and flew north. After a few minutes, he landed at the edge of Ponyville. He looked around and saw an old two-story cottage, hiding within forest.

The Cottage was falling apart. It looked like it was about to collapse at any moment. Vines covered the stone chimney while the wood was gray and rotten. The glass windows were cracked and broken. The roof, usually made with hay, seemed like it wasn't made with hay. It had lost its color to the elements and had blended in with the wood. The paint was peeling of the walls. The Cottage looked as if it was built…

"Beta, is this what I think it is?" Alpha said in mid-thought.

"_Welcome to my house, Alpha. I'm amazed that it is still standing after all these years. Apparently after I…had my incident, rumor spread that anypony who went into the house would be killed by my anger. Glad to see that everypony listened to it. Let's go inside." _Beta said cheerfully.

Alpha walked to the door. It was leaning to one side, its hinges already gone. Alpha cautiously opened it and walked inside, letting Beta close the door. He took a deep breath. The air smelled old and mossy. "Wow." Alpha said, impressed, as he looked around.

"_Home sweet Home. It isn't much today. But back when I was alive, it was a lot. My parents were very wealthy, before I screwed everything up. My bedroom was upstairs. I'll make sure the wood doesn't crumble when you touch it, you'll be fine." _Beta replied.

Alpha took a step forward and heard the wood creak, cringing to its sound. "I'm scared shitless right now." He gingerly took a few steps forward and slowly made his way to the stairs. Once he got up the stairs he looked around. The hallway's paint was peeling off but Alpha could just see the last remains of cyan in the old paint.

"_It's the first door on your left. My parents' room is on the right. Go into my room first. Then go into my parents' room." _Beta announced

Alpha nodded as he walked down the hallway, and entered the first door on his right. The room was perfectly preserved. It was if someone had taken a picture of it. It was brightly colored. There was a colt sitting on the ground. He had brown skin, blood-red eyes, and his mane and tail went from a dark red to a light red. Alpha was memorized by the colt sitting on the ground in front of him.

"Hey colt, you lost?" Alpha asked.

The colt did not respond. It did not even look around. Alpha walked around the colt to see him playing with a ball. The ball was colored blue with a red stripe across it. But the colt wasn't touching the ball, instead he stared at it. As Alpha watched, the ball rose up and flew around the room, the colt laughing hysterically watching it.

"…Beta…" Alpha muttered to himself, watching the colt.

"Beta, you got a visitor!" A female voice said from downstairs.

The ball fell to the ground. It bounced twice then rolled to a halt. He stopped laughing; all the happiness he was just feeling was gone. Beta's smile turned to a frown.

"Who is it?" Beta replied. Visitors usually meant being hated. All of his friends have already left him, betraying him. He heard a door slam as his mother closed the front door.

"A mare named Gamma." Beta's mom replied.

"What did she want?" Beta asked as he walked to his window to see the mare walk away. She had gray skin with a dark-green-turning-light-green colored mane and tail. Gamma turned around to look at Beta's house once more and noticed Beta watching her. She gave Beta a nasty look, called him some words that Beta could not hear but knew it wasn't nice words, and walked away.

"To state her own opinion. That's the 6th pony today that has come up to our cottage to state their opinions. This is getting too out of hoof." Beta's mom replied.

Beta turned away from the window and jumped upon his bed. He grabbed his blanket, a cotton blanket that was colored blue, with Luna's cutie mark stitched into it, and wrapped himself with it, curling up into a ball. Everything slowly started to disappear as the flashback ended. The room was deteriorating. The paint was peeling off the walls, the covers of the bed were moldy and mothballed.

"Beta, are you alright?" Alpha asked.

"_No." _Beta admitted. _"I don't want to be here any longer. I want to go." _

Alpha looked down and picked up the ball Beta was playing with in the flashback, dropping it in his bag as he turned around. "Do you want to visit your parent's room?" He asked.

"_No, I want to leave this place now." _

"We are leaving." Alpha said as he walked down the stairs. He opened the door and, with the best of his abilities, closed it without breaking it. He stepped back a few meters, spread his wings and flew off into the blue sky, heading toward the market.

"Beta?" Alpha said.

"_Yes, Alpha?" _

"What happened to Gamma?"

"_I killed her, like I did with every other pony that hurt me. But unlike most ponies, I killed her quickly compared to every other pony I killed. She was one of the first ponies I killed."_

Alpha slowly turned right. "How did you kill her? How did you kill most ponies?"

"_It depended on how bad they hurt me. Ponies like Gamma who swore at me were killed by either A. being lit on fire. B. stabbed in the hooves and neck. Or C. strangled. Ponies that hurt me by calling me names and singling me out in public were either slowly crushed alive or decapitated with a dull object like a butter knife or the metal edge of a ruler. Ponies that physically hurt me were…well…I treated them like I treated the ponies who took off your wing." _

"Oh. Okay." Alpha said calmly.

"_Why do you ask?" _

"I saw a flashback when I entered your room. I felt your pain, your loneliness and your depression." Alpha replied as he landed in the market. He looked around and saw some ponies looking at him. "I'm starting to feel like that, not loneliness but alienated." Alpha looked around and saw John and Scoot together, drinking some milkshakes. He smiled and exhaled.

"Hey colt!" a voice said behind Alpha. Alpha turned around to see a Guard walking up to him. Beta began to rise.

"Yes?" Alpha replied.

"Princess Celestia wants to meet with you." The guard replied.

"Really? Well, you can tell her that I don't care." Alpha said.

The guard's jaw dropped. "Are you aware of what I just said? The Princess of Equestri-"

"I don't give a damn what she wants." Alpha said interrupting, his right eye glowing red. "Tell her that I. DO. NOT. CARE."

"You are aware of the consequences of not obeying your Princess's command, right?" The guard said.

"I have been through worse. And she isn't my princess. I do not worship her. I do not listen to her." Alpha replied.

"Fine, your problem." The guard said as he took flight, heading towards the castle. Alpha sighed as he shook his head. He turned around and went to a stall selling apples. He bought three apples, turned around and found an empty table. Alpha placed the apples on the table and slid off his metallic brace. He placed his wing on the table, placing his hoof on it and stretched his scorched wing. Ponies started to walk over to Alpha, staring at the colt's wing. Alpha did not mind though, and ate two of the three apples.

"Well," Alpha said, sighing. "One last thing to do today."

"_Find out who Zeta is."_

Alpha slid back on his metallic brace and was about to take a bite of the last apple when he saw a stray to his right. Feeling bad for the stray, Alpha tossed the apple to it. The stray caught it and ran away with it.

"_I never understood why they run away." _

"It's mostly because they are scared; out of sight, out of mind." Alpha replied, noticing some ponies were staring at him. Alpha got up and took to the skies. "Now, where the hell would we learn about a pony like Zeta?" Alpha asked himself.

"_Judging on how old she looked, we can rule out the library and the museum of Equestrian History, which leaves…" _

"The Castle, well, it seems like we are going to break in the castle."

"_We aren't breaking in the castle, we are sneaking into the castle."_

"What the hell is the difference?" Alpha asked as he banked right, heading for the castle.

"_Breaking in usually means making a dramatic entrance. Sneaking in usually means not making a dramatic entrance and alerting every pony in the castle. Also, don't go for the castle yet, wait until it is night-time. It will be darker which gives us the advantage because the guards will not be able to hear you fly above them or see you. Luna will also be raising the moon so she will be busy. Celestia will be asleep. As for Zeta, well, we will find out about her."_

"Alright, night-time it is." Alpha replied as he turned around and headed for his cave. He needed to rest, gain some energy to get into the castle and get out without being caught. Alpha landed in front of his cave. He walked in and took off his bag and his metallic brace. Turning around to face the entrance of the cave, he made sure he was in the shade when he lied on the cold stone ground. Placing his hooves in front of him, he laid his head down on them, and fell fast asleep.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A job request.

"_Alpha, wake up." _

"I'm up." Alpha said, opening his eyes and pushing his tiredness away.

"_Let's go." _

Alpha nodded as he slipped his bag on, walked outside his cave and took off into the sunset. He had a window to get into the castle without being seen, but it was closing quickly. With Celestia falling asleep, and Luna raising the moon, Alpha had a short amount of time to sneak in. The moon began to rise when Alpha made it to the Castle.

"_Follow the underside of the castle. I'm expecting a shield to be in place for any break-ins/trespassing like we are doing right now. Find the shield and I can teleport us through it." _

Alpha followed the underside of the castle and came in contact with an invisible wall. He pushed as hard as he could against it but could not get through. "Beta, I think this is the shield."

"_Alright, take a deep breath." _

Alpha took a deep breath as Beta teleported him to the other side of the shield. He felt like he was crushed into oblivion then rearranged back into physical form. It was painful as hell. Alpha bit on his lip to help himself not scream out in pain. He felt the tang of blood in his mouth. He wiped his hoof across him mouth, getting rid of the blood and headed for the nearest tower. He swooped through an open window, banked hard and landed with such grace that would make RD notice.

"_Alright, now we got to find out where Zeta is."_

Alpha nodded in reply as he set off down the dimly lit hallway. Every few meters were candles, flickering, dancing on their own wicks, casting shadows on the walls. Alpha felt his hearing get clearer as Beta enhanced his hearing.

"_You should be able to hear easier. If guards come, don't worry, I'll cloak you so you can gallop past them without them noticing."_

The white Pegasus sneered. Beta was covering up for him, thinking for everything. He began to gallop, picking up speed as he raced down the hallway. He slowed down to a halt and looked at the candles beside him. He walked over to them and watched the flame flicker. "Beta," Alpha whispered. "Ever want to burn down the castle? Or light a portion of it aflame?"

"_What makes you think I don't want to?" _Beta replied in a chuckle

"If anything goes wrong, the candles will help with our escape." Alpha replied, softly chuckling as he began to gallop again down the hallway. He jumped into the air and began to fly down the hallway.

"_What the hell are you doing?" _

"I am much stealthier, faster and more agile when I fly then if I run."

"_But if you fuck up, you will make a lot more noise."_

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Alpha slowed to a halt and landed once he saw an open door. He felt Beta rise as he entered the room. It was dark, no lights were there. Alpha heard some pony breathing and thought it was a guard asleep. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and looked around. He saw a map on the wall and walked up to it. It was a map of Equestria and had X's on it. Cloudsdale was circled on it.

"_Looks important, let's take it." _

Alpha walked to the map, and took it down, rolling it up into a scroll and placing it in his backpack. He turned around to leave and stopped dead in his tracks. What he thought was a guard wasn't a guard.

"_Holy Shit, it's her." _

On the ground, asleep in front of them, was Her Majesty, Celestia. Alpha felt his anger rise quick within him.

"If I killed her right now…"

"_If you killed her right now, not only will you fuck up Equestria more than it is now with her ruling it all, but you will not be able to learn your reason; why you are alive right now. You will hurt more ponies than I have ever done when I was on my rampage! Ponies trust her. If you destroy that trust by showing ponies your past and mine, they will start to loose trust in her. They will see her lies. Then she will be weak, politically weak. Then you got to defeat her using magic, agility, and strength. But that happen in time. For now we got to learn who the hell Zeta is. If she isn't here, we then need to leave." _

Alpha stared at Celestia's body, and then headed for the door when it opened.

"_SHIT!" _

Alpha backed away from the door, Beta cloaking him instantly.

"_It will only hide you visually; it will not cloak the sounds you make. Breathe quietly."_

Princess Luna walked through the door, a candle floating behind her, and closed the door. "Sis, wake up." She said as she walked to her sister. Luna laid down on the ground and nudged her. "Wake up; I need to talk to you."

"Yes?" Celestia replied. She open her eyes, saw Luna and closed them again.

"Wake up!"

"I am awake; just resting my eyes. What do you want?"

"It's about Alpha…and Beta…"

Celestia raised her head, fully awake now. "What is wrong?"

Luna sighed. "Beta asked me why I wasn't in his dreams when I was on the moon. I replied that I was still NMM when he was alive, but I know that wasn't the truth."

"So?"

"What did Beta actually do? I know you aren't telling me the truth. Was he actually innocent? Was he bullied to the point where he broke and could not handle the pain anymore?"

Celestia sighed. "He told you that, didn't he?"

"Is it true?"

Celestia lowered her head. "It is."

Luna stood instantly, changing into Nightmare Moon. "YOU LIED TO ME! I NEARLY KILLED AN INNOCENT CIVILIAN. A CIVILIAN WHO WAS IN PAIN, WHO KILLED BECAUSE HE WAS PUSHED OVER THE LIMIT! YOU BLAME HIM FOR THINGS THAT GO WRONG THAT YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND! WHY!?" Night Mare moon screamed.

"I HAD NO CHOICE!" Celestia said, standing up and walking toward where the map was. "I had no choice. Some pony was to blame. If I told them what actually happened, how it all happened, and why it happened, My rule would be over. I would have been killed; executed for killing a civilian." She looked up at the non-existent map. "It's gone."

"What is?" Luna said, now calm.

"The map."

"Oh no," Luna said, her eyes widening. "I will alert the guards. We have a thief in this castle."

"Don't." Celestia said, pointing her hoof at Luna. "Call for Zeta. Have her find out and kill this thief."

"Consider it done." Luna said as she walked out of the room. Alpha, invisible, walked out right behind her.

"_We got to leave this place now!" _

Alpha looked up at Luna and began to walk backwards, away from her.

"Alpha," Luna said, looking around. Alpha stopped cold. "If you are here, I'm sorry for everything that has happened and everything that will happen." Alpha thought about replying, then pushed that thought away. He turned around and flew down the corridor. He found the window that he got into the castle and flew out. He felt as if he was crushed into oblivion and put back together as Beta teleported him to his cave.

"You know, we could have done that at first. Just teleport me there then break in."

"_Yeah, but you needed to wake up first. What was on the map that was so important to Celestia?"_

Alpha took out the map. "Don't know. Let's look at it." He unrolled the map and looked at the X's and the circle around Cloudsdale. There was some writing near the circle. "Destr-" Alpha stopped midsentence.

"_What?"_

"I know what the X's are."

"_No…there can only be one, why would she need more than one?!" _

"I don't know. I'm really bummed out that we didn't find Zeta." Alpha said as he rolled up the map and placed it in his bag. He walked to the front of his cave and lit a fire, lying down behind it.

"_I wonder where she was. Well, good night Alpha."_ Beta said as he nestled in Alpha.

"Night." Alpha replied as he stared at the fire. He watched for a bit before placing his head on his bag and falling asleep.

* * *

Rainbow Dash was asleep when she heard somepony knocking on her door. "What the Hell? Who would be knocking on my door at this hour?" She said to herself as she walked to her door, half asleep. She open the door to see a Pegasus standing there. She had a purple-turning-black mane, and 1 eye purple. The other eye was glowing green.

"Hello Rainbow Dash, sorry for waking you up at this hour but I have a request." Zeta said, grinning.

"What request?" Dash said.

"A job request; one that will pay you much more than your current one."

"You have my attention." She said, fully awake.

"How would you like to work at the Rainbow Factory?"

_Everything that happens has a reason behind why it happens._


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: a snowy day.

"AHHHH!" Alpha screamed as he woke up violently. He looked around, finding out where he was and let out a sigh of relief as he remembered he was having a dream. He looked at the red coals where the fire was. He raised his eyes, looking at the snow, watching it. It snowed just yesterday and Alpha had no idea what it was and he did not care, until it began to snow harder and harder. When work ended early, Alpha raced to his Cave and rushed to start a fire. He never felt this cold in his life.

It's been 3 months since Alpha and Beta had broken into the Castle and stole the map. After Celestia realized that the map had been stolen, there has been a lot of activity happening at the Castle and in Equestria. More guards have arrived at Ponyville. Celestia blamed the new security as "reinforcing the Equestrian wall." Since then, Alpha decided to lay low, wait it out. His idea worked, after a month of intense paranoia, the guards left. But some of the paranoia stayed. Since breaking into the castle, Alpha hasn't heard or seen Zeta at all.

For the past 2 months, Alpha and Beta had memorized the map in case it was ever taken from them or was lost. The bond between them was growing stronger and faster. As Alpha trains on flying, his stamina increases. He can now go for hours on end without food or the need to stop and have a drink. Beta has grown immensely, magic wise. He can now fire spells without pause, dual fire spells at different objects, cloak Alpha more effectively by cloaking the sounds he makes, and teleport with causing much pain to Alpha.

Alpha stood up, leaving his wing laying on the rock wall and walked out into the snow. He smiled, laughing out loud as he walked in the snow, listening to the crunch whenever he placed his hoof on the snow. He grabbed his wing with his bag and slipped both on as he ran to the Village. Once there, he saw multiple ponies playing in the snow. Some colts were throwing balls of snow at each other, while some fillies where making what looked like a pony out of snow. He tilted his head in curiosity, watching as one of the fillies, which he recognized was Scootaloo, placing a black top hat on the snow-pony and letting out a sound of disappointment while staring at the figure. Scootaloo looked around and saw Alpha staring at the figure.

"Daddy, He is here!" Scootaloo said to her father. John's face popped out where the figure's head was supposedly to be. He laughed as he saw Alpha's face.

"_Don't worry about me. I'm up."_ Beta said as he woke up. _"What's wron…."_ Beta stopped midsentence as he looked at John. _"What the hell?"_

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Alpha muttered, looking at John. Scootaloo galloped up to Alpha. 

"Alpha!" Scoot said as got close to Alpha. She looked at him with a worried face. "What's wrong?"

Alpha looked down at Scoot. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there." He said, realizing where Scoot was. "I was confused what you and your father are doing."

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused, walking to her father.

Alpha followed her. "What are you building? Aren't you cold?"

"I'm not cold, and I'm building a snow-pony." Scoot replied.

"Oh." Alpha said. "Wait, what?" he replied a few seconds later.

"A snow-pony, silly!" She said as she tried to put more snow where her father's face was.

"Hey Alpha," John said, his mouth poking out of the snow.

"Hey John," Alpha said, looking at the snow thingy.

"How are you?" replied the red mouth that was sticking out.

"Cold, very cold." Alpha admitted, shivering.

John shook off the snow on his head and looked at the white colt standing in front of him. His skin was nearly the same as the snow, the only thing standing out was his hair and eyes. The colt was looking around. "I take it this is your first time seeing snow."

"Mine? Yes. His? No."

"His?"

Alpha glanced at John, his eye glowing red.

"_It's the first time I have seen snow since I was here. It's a relief that it still snows. It used to be my favorite time of the year." _Beta said aloud.

Scootaloo ran up to Beta. "Are you Beta?"

"_Right now? Yes, I am. What is troubling you?" _

"Legend has it that if a pony builds a snow-pony, puts a black top hat on it, and says some magical words, it will come alive. Sadly the magical words were lost as the legend was told. Daddy says that you were alive when ponies made snow-ponies come to life. Is that true?" Scootaloo said cheerfully.

"_Believe it or not, that was true. I do not remember saying words to make it come alive though. I do remember that it wasn't just a pony, but an Alicorn. Create a snow-alicorn, don't give it a hat though. Instead give it a name, and it should come to life." _Beta replied.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO MAKE A SNOW-PONY?!" Scootaloo complained. "I had to use my daddy as a mold to create one."

"_That is why it is so hard to bring them to life. If they were easy to create, no pony would forget how to make one. But because it had to have wings and a horn, ponies forgot how to make them. Create an Alicorn out of snow, give it a name, and it will come to life. I promise you that." _Beta explained. _"Use water with snow to help it stick. Don't get the snow too wet or it won't stick."_

"Daddy, can you help me?" Scoot said.

"Nah, I'm too cold to help, maybe later." John said as he shook off the snow. "I will be at the Market if you need me."

"Ok daddy, Bye Alpha." Scoot said as she ran after her friends.

"Alpha, walk with me." John said in a serious tune as he walked to the market.

"Yes, John?" Alpha replied as he followed.

"I did some…er….looking. And I found someponies. Two ponies in the matter of fact."

"And?"

"I think I found your parents."

Alpha stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around himself, looking for something.

"And they want to see….Alpha?" John said as he looked behind him. "Alpha, is everything alright?" John walked to Alpha. He waved his hoof in front of his face. "Alpha, are you listening to me?"

Alpha was not listening to John. He wasn't aware that he was near John. All the snow and the village was gone. He was having another flashback, and he knew what he was watching. He saw two Pegasuses walk down a grassy hill, a white colt with a black-turning-blue mane and two white wings running to the other colts, away from the Pegasuses, supposedly its parents. He looked to his right to see a Brown pony with black-turning-red hair and red eyes walk up to him.

"_So this is how happened?" _

"Yeah, this is how it happened."

The two watched as day turned to night and the white colt playing with the colts until there was only one remaining left. They watched as the colt left with his parents. leaving the white colt alone, waiting for his parents who would never return.

"_That was harsh. They never came back?"_

"No, I stayed there all night, thinking, hoping that they forgot about me. But they never came back."

The flashback and Beta faded away as he saw John staring at him.

"What is wrong, Alpha. Why are you crying?"

Alpha blinked and felt the warm liquid run down his face. "My parents abandoned me." He said, slowly, wiping his tears away with his hoof. "I don't want to meet them. I already have enough going in my life; I don't want to have to deal with them. Besides, I have something much more important to tell and show you. Come with me."

Alpha said, walking to the market, John following.

"I'm sorry, I did not know." John said.

"It's okay. You did nothing wrong." Alpha said as he walked to a table.

"I'm going to go get some hot chocolate. Do you want some?" John asked.

"Some what?"

"Yeah, you will want some." John said as he walked off.

"What is "hot chocolate"?"

"_I really need to keep reminding myself about how long you stayed at the RF, because this is just gone too far. You really don't know what hot chocolate is?" _

"No. I don't know what it is."

John came back with two cups of hot chocolate. He sat down and gave Alpha a cup. "Here."

Alpha watched as john gave him a cup and stared down at the cup. He took the cup with one hoof, and took a sip from it. "ACK!" He said as the liquid burnt his tongue.

"You don't like it?" John asked.

"I haven't tasted it yet, it's too hot. Anyway," Alpha said reaching in his bag and taking out the map. "I got something from the castle. Celestia raised the security 2 months ago because I broke in and stole it. What she says about "protecting the Equestrian line" is bullcrap." He said as he rubbed his eyes, dark bags were formed under them. "Look." Alpha said, pointing his hoof at Cloudsdale. "It's crossed out. I'll give you three guesses why."

"Is this a map of the Facilities across Equestria?" John said, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, Each X is a facility. This means there are more to destroy."

"No offense, but you nor your friend can destroy them alone."

"I know, Im considering on leaving Ponyville for the City. Start there, take out the corrupt cops and place cops that I know will make a difference. Start something new."

John choked on the drink. "Are you serious? I thought you destroyed the Factory and done doing stuff like that. You are serious of changing everything? Really?" He said, sounding more excited than worried.

"Yeah, why? I thought you knew that."

"I was not aware of that."

"I destroyed the factory because it needed to be done. Although I was free, I felt like I had a responsibility to free every pony that was stuck there. And I did. But now I realize that my work is not yet done. And I will do what I and Beta can to complete it." Alpha replied. He took another sip of the hot chocolate, this time being much more careful. He smiled as he tasted chocolate for the first time. It tasted sweet; unbearably sweet, but it had a dark tinge of bitterness. He let the liquid stay in his mouth as he tried to figure out what it tasted like. After a while he swallowed it and took another sip, this time gingerly. It was warm now, not too hot but not too cold. "I still don't know why I was allowed to live after I was punished for sparing that red mare 3 years ago." Alpha said as he touched his scar.

"That is in the past. You can't change the past."

Alpha laughed. "I know I cannot change the past. I know it's impossible. Im trying to figure out why it happened the way it did. I don't understand why. If I don't learn why it happened, at least no pony will have to go through what we went through at the damned facility. It's like a backup plan. If I don't learn why it happened, no pony goes through the RF." He looked to his right and watched as Scootaloo rolled around and played in the snow. "She goes to school, right?"

"Yes, she does." John replied, taken back with the sudden change in subject.

"I'm only 13. I am supposed to be in school, right?"

"Take away your time at the Facility, your wing being taken off, your parents abandoning you, and you not meeting Beta, yes, you are supposed to be in school."

"What is it like?"

"What is what like?"

"What is school like?"

John became silent. "I always hated school. I never fit in with the other ponies; they would call me names and isolate me."

"Story of my life." Alpha muttered. He frowned as he took of his metallic brace and rubbed what was left of his right wing with his left hoof. "I know I will never have a normal life. I never had a normal life and I never will." He looked John in the eye. "I will destroy ever factory in Equestria or I will die trying. Beta and I already memorized the map. Take it and find the others who escaped. Make Ponyville a hoof hold, a safe zone. Use the map and destroy the factories." He got up; slipping on his brace, this time making sure it was on tight. He flexed both wings, stretching for the journey ahead. Alpha looked back at John. "It was nice seeing you again."

"Daddy, look!" Scootaloo screamed. Alpha and John looked at her to see the snow-pony walk around Scootaloo, playing with her.

"_I told you it would work. Good job."_ Beta said aloud.

Alpha extended both wings and flew upwards, a halo of red and blue exploded as he broke the sound barrier. He banked hard right and started to fly toward the city. He was eager to get started.

He wasn't the only Pegasus eager to get started. A blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane was eager to get back to work after the snow was cleared.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Heart of Equestria

"_To be honest, you have been flying for too long. We should find a place and rest, Alpha."_

"No, I'll be fine." Alpha replied, violently shaking his head to keep himself awake.

The young white colt had been flying for 4 hours straight. His speed fell below Mach 1 an hour after breaking the sonic barrier and now, after 4 hours of non-stop flying were at their breaking point.

"_Alpha, either you land now and find a place to land or I will forcefully take over and find us a place to sleep."_

"What has gotten into you, Beta?" Alpha asked, starting to descend to the ground.

"_You have!"_ Beta replied, his voice full to the brim with worry. _"You haven't had a good night's sleep in over a month! Every time you wake up, you wake up screaming and sweating, as if you just woke up after you had your wing taken off. You are like a brother to me. I worry that you will become sick, so sick that I won't be able to help you. I don't want that to happen." _

Alpha felt a tear run down his face and realized Beta was crying. Even though Beta was over 900 years old, he died alone, hurt, and at the age of 8. In all seriousness, he was older and more mature than Alpha but younger in character and in self-control.

"Don't cry, I'm landing as fast as I can." He looked around for a place to land but he couldn't see any. He was in the mountains now. All he saw was snow and rock. He spotted a cave and dived to it. His hoofs hit the snow and stuck in, flipping him head of heels through the snow. After tumbling for a few meters, he came to a halt. Alpha stood up shivering in the cold, and walked to the cave. Once he was inside, out of the cold wind, he walked to what seemed like the end of the cave. It was dark, and his eyes had just adjusted to the lack of light when he fell through a hole. He hit the ground on his brace, the wing skittering off in the darkness.

Alpha was weak and tired. He fought the urge to curl up into a ball and cry himself to sleep. Getting up, he looked for his wing, and saw it on the ground. Alpha walked to it, slipped it on, and winced as the cold metal touched his bare skin. He looked up to see some light coming from around the corner, Curious, he walked around the corner and his jaw dropped in awe. He was in the middle of the mountain. It was hollow but Alpha wasn't looking around. He stared at the curtain of fire, water and magic in the middle the fire and water clashed together, creating a blur of colors. The colors then flew upwards, joining together into a ball of magic and flew out of a hole in the center of the room. It was warm in the room. He looked around, trying to find a way down to the curtain when he saw a flight of stairs.

He raced to the stairs, galloping down them, and walked to the center of the room.

"Welcome to the Heart of Equestria." Said a voice behind Alpha.

Alpha looked behind himself to see Luna standing there watching. He felt Beta rise as he extended both wings to fly away.

Luna saw Alpha extend both wings and raised a hoof. "Calm yourself Beta, I am not here to fight." She walked down the stairs with an elegant grace to Alpha. Alpha retracted both wings but kept his attention on Luna. "I realize what my sister has done, and I am sorry. I am also sorry for attacking you 3 months ago. I was unaware of what actually happened."

Alpha felt Beta descend as he accepted Luna's apology. Alpha turned around to focus his attention on the spectacle behind him. Luna walked up behind him and stood beside him.

"This is one of Equestria's many secrets that my sister has hidden from the public. The Fire symbolizes Celestia while the Water Symbolizes Me." Luna said, watching the water and fire. "When both clash, they create a ball of colors. The ball flies out through the ceiling and to Canterlot, to the castle." She said as she watched. Luna lowered her head. "When I was banned to the moon, my sister would come to this place often. It is the only place where she could speak to me, through the water."

Alpha had already lied down on the ground and was falling asleep. Luna saw Alpha falling asleep and reached lifted her wing, exposing a bag. She opened the bag with her magic, and took out a blanket. Luna then covered Alpha with the blanket, and then started to continue as she started to walk around the room.

"I was not able to visit Beta's dreams because my sister would not allow me to." She looked at Alpha, his hair now glowing red as Beta stayed awake, listening. "I tried to beg her to allow me into your dreams, to protect her. But she did not allow it. Only after you were defeated did she allow me into the dreams of the colts and mares of Equestria." Luna lowered her head as she tried to control her emotions. "I remember what you did for me, Beta. I will not forget. And I have a job to do now; one that I have not been allowed to do since you were abandoned by your parents." She walked to Alpha and lied down beside him. She lowered her head, her horn touching Alpha's head as she joined his dream.

Once inside his dream, Luna understood why Alpha had not been sleeping as well as he used to. She watched as he watched his younger self watch as his parents left him.

Alpha moved his head, temporarily severing the connection. Once connected again, Luna realized she was in a different dream. She watched in horror as Alpha was tortured, a black pony severing his wing. She watched as Beta bonded with Alpha, his body floating as he took control and punished those who brought pain upon Alpha. Alpha's head twitched, and again a new dream came. This time it showed Beta. Beta looked around him, watching as his friends left him, betraying him. He watched as his friends became enemies, calling him names, punching and kicking him. She watched as she saw Beta start to cry then scream in anger. The dream around her began to burn up. Luna watched as Beta turned on the ponies that hated him, watched as he killed and tortured those who hurt him. She gasped as she woke up from the dream.

Her sister had lied to her. She looked at Alpha. She watched as he began to twitch violently, began to squirm and wail as if he was on fire. He began to cry harder and harder, wailing and screaming in agony. But he wasn't the only one screaming and crying. Beta was as well. His hair was flashing from blue to red as both Alpha and Beta took over, crying and screaming in their own nightmare. Luna watched in horror as the white colt screamed and cried loudly.

Alpha woke with a start, screaming and crying. He looked around and realized where he was. He stopped and stared at the fire, clashing with the water, creating a ball of color then rushing out through the roof. He turned his head and saw Luna lying down beside him. He saw her face and knew what she had done and saw.

"It's been like that for a month. Every time I close my eyes, either I or Beta have nightmares." He slowly shook his head as he wiped his eyes. "It's already bad enough what we both went through. At least we should be able to sleep easily. That is the least that we deserve." He lowered his head, closing his eyes in a futile attempt to sleep peacefully. "That or die."

Luna covered Alpha with her wing as she moved closer to him. She laid her head next to his, her horn touching his. She closed her eyes and transferred her dream to his. She listened as Alpha's breathing slowed as his and Beta's dream eased and relaxed. She then slowly got up, and after waiting ten minutes to see if Alpha needed more help, left at once. She flew to the castle, in hopes to talk to her sister. She knew Celestia will not be pleased by what she did. But this has gone too far for too long.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: _Estefania_

Alpha woke up 4 hours after Luna left. He packed his bag, rolling up and storing the blanket that Luna had given him and was about to walk out when he looked back at The Heart of Equestria.

"_What is it?"_

"What I am about to do will do either 3 things; it will enhance us, kill us, or it won't do anything." Alpha told Beta as he walked to the curtain. "Are you ready?"

"_If we die, I want you to know it was nice knowing you."_

"If we die, we will both see each other. Remember, ghosts like you only happen when ponies die unnaturally."

"_Just do it."_

Alpha extended his metallic brace and held it to The Heart of Equestria. "Well, here goes nothing." He said as he plunged his wing into the heart. At first nothing happened, but when Alpha began to pull his wing out, he was hit by a bolt of magic squarely in the chest. He flew backward, hitting the wall behind him and fell to the ground, hurt and stunned. He slowly raised his head and watched as the suit of armor, glowing white in patches, approached him.

"You, Alpha and Beta, have been charged with the following charges of Torture, Multiple Homicide, Attempted Murder to kill her Majesty, and Theft. Therefor you are now an Enemy of Equestria and Her Majesties. You are hereby sentenced to Death. How do you plea?" said the suit of armor.

Alpha stared in the suit of armor in sheer horror, unable to understand what the suit of armor just said for his ears wear still ringing and his head was still spinning. He just stared suit of armor, stunned, unable to move or respond.

"Your plea will be written down, now go back to the hell where you belong." The suit of armor raised an Axe, and brought it down towards Alpha's Neck.

* * *

_4 hours earlier in the Castle's observatory…_

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"My job."

"You did not do your job, my dear sister. You aided an enemy of Equestria. Not just any Enemy, but one who nearly defeated me 900 years ago!"

"Neither of them are enemies to Equestria. Both are currently victims of your doing, or do you not remember what you did?" Luna said.

"Don't be sarcastic with me, Sister."

"Then stop acting like it's not your fault!"

"It isn't!"

Luna instantly spread both wings, transforming into her darker self. "LIES!"

Celestia took a few steps backward in caution. "Luna, calm down."

"NO! YOU DID THIS TO THEM BOTH AND NOW YOU SAY IT ISN'T YOUR FAULT!" Nightmare Moon yelled. "YOU HURT THEM BOTH. YOU BROUGHT THEM INTO THIS, DESTROYING WHAT LIVES THEY HAD AND BRINGING THEM INTO HELL!"

"Luna, be quiet! There are ponies asleep." Celestia said, looking around, hoping no-pony was listening

"I THOUGHT THE RAINBOW FACTORY WAS BAD, BUT THAT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT YOU DID TO ALPHA, LET ALONE BETA!"

"Luna, listen to me. I tried to help Beta, but ponies made rumors, started hating him for what he was."

"YOU HELPED HIM LIKE YOU HELPED ME; BY PUNISHING US, BY PUNISHING THE VICTIMS!"

"I had no choice, when I got to him; he had already killed hundreds of ponies. I had to stop him. I had to stop the damage he was doing."

"AND ALPHA? WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT HIM THAT YOU HAD TO REMOVE HIS WING?"

Celestia took a breath. "He saved a mare from hurting herself, it was his punishment."

Nightmare Moon relaxed but did not transform to her original self. "His original punishment was to be killed, like all others who broke the rules in that slaughter-house. Why was he not killed like the rest?"

Celestia looked away in shame. She walked to the rail guard of the tower and stared out into the distance. "Because I did not want to kill him."

"Why?"

"We all have our dark sides, Luna. You of all ponies should know that.

Nightmare Moon transformed into her original self as she realized what her sister had done. "Y..You..punished..him..because..you wanted to..." Luna stuttered. "You, out of all ponies, hurt Alpha; a stray, a victim, because you wanted to…"

Celestia looked behind her to see her sister stare at her in shock, in fear. Luna was in total disbelief of what she had just heard. "No." She began to shake her head.

"Sis," Celestia began.

"No." Luna said, interrupting Celestia. "I will not. No." She took off her crown and threw it to Celestia's hoofs. "I will not side with you when you punish ponies for fun. Absolutely not."

"Fine, leave then." Celestia said, trying her best not to break down.

Luna walked to her room, packed what she needed, and flew off into the night sky. Celestia watched as her only sister flew off into the night sky. Once she could no longer see her, she closed her eyes and let out a scream of sorrow and rage. Somepony knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"Ma'am," Shining Armor said. "Luna has left the castle in a rush, is everything alright?"

Celestia stared at Shining. _Is everything alright?_ She thought. _No, nothing is alright. Luna has abandoned me and Alpha/Beta is still out there. Time to finish what I have started_.

"Ma'am?"

"Shining, gather 5 of your best guards and meet me in the armory."

"Ma'am?" Shining repeated; worried.

"I will explain everything in the Armory. Go, that's an order."

"Yes Ma'am." Shining took off down the hall at once, galloping at full speed. Celestia looked out into the night sky one last time then made her way into the armory.

Celestia walked into the armory and looked around. The armory was built as a bunker for herself and Luna in case something like a plague hit Equestria. After her confrontation with Beta, Celestia refitted the bunker, turning it into an Armory. The walls were made up of _reinforced Dragon Metal_, brick, and stone. It was built into the mountain behind the Castle. The torches that were aflame created a medieval atmosphere that was unneeded, but felt appropriate for what was happening. On the right and left sides of the room stood mannequins with chest plates and leg guards resting on them; The Royal Guard's Armor. In the back of the room stood a statue of herself and Luna; standing together. In the middle of the room stood a table, on it containing a full map of Equestria.

She saw Shining with 5 of his best ponies, all suited up in armor, standing at attention in front of the statue. She smiled, amused. "You will be going against a Pegasus who has another soul bonded to him. Both are extremely dangerous. You will need a special type of armor to defeat him."

The guards looked at each other, then back at Celestia. "A special type of armor?" Shining asked.

Celestia nodded as she walked past them to the statue. She looked at the statue carefully, then raising her front right hoof; she pushed the chest of herself in the statue. Her hoof lurched forward as the hidden button moved. The statue slowly moved to the right, revealing a small room. Celestia walked inside, and brought out a plastic model of a pony. On it was an armor Shining had never laid eyes on before.

It was Carbon gray in color. Deep scratches covered the chest plate, leg guards, and wing braces. The symbol of the Sun was on one side with the moon on the other. If one were to look carefully, they would notice a burnt portion of the armor underneath the left wing brace.

"This," Celestia began, "is a variant of the amour I used against Beta, modified to fit a Royal guard. Although it is 900 years old, make no mistake, this is a very powerful suit of untapped ancient magic. Created when combining the magic from The Heart of Equestria with _Dragon Metal_, this suit, dubbed _Estefania_, after the creator's cousin, amplifies the user's ability to use magic twentyfold, while increasing both agility, strength and giving the user the ability to fly, if they cannot already." She called in her servants and looked at Shining Armor. "Suit up."

It took nearly an hour for the Shining and his guards to fully suit up. For the Armor to amplify the user's power, it had to tap into his/her blood, for all blood is just magic in its raw and unstable form. To tap into the user's bloodstream, a hollow needle is inserted into the back of the neck. The magic would then be used to power the armor and in turn, amplify the user. The Armor also gave the user the ability to fly, if he/she was a earth pony or a unicorn. A thin needle would connect to the user's nervous system, connecting their wings to the brain. Although very painful, none of the guards made a sound. Celestia walked past the servants that were helping the remaining guards put on the armor and made her way to the Captain. Shining Armor was the first to be fully suited up and was trying to get used to the wings that the armor provided, an axe already stored on his back.

"How is it?" Celestia asked.

Shining watched as he moved his left wing up and down, then relaxing it, placing it back on his side. "Different. I can feel the armor amplifying my magic."

"You trained in all forms and styles of fighting, correct?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Have you mastered fighting while standing on only two hoofs?"

"It took me much longer than I expected, but yes, I have mastered Human combat."

Celestia looked around and noticed that all remaining guards were fully encased in the armor. The only thing that told who was who was the color glowing from the armor. Once the armor tapped into the bloodstream of its user, it glowed in the color of the user's skin. Shining Armor was glowing White. Celestia smiled as she looked at the suits of armor standing at attention in front of her. She took a deep breath and explained the situation.

"You five have been picked because your captain thinks you are the best out of The Royal Guard. I hope he is right. Your objective is to eliminate a colt." The guards looked at one another. "This is not your everyday colt, His name is Alpha." Celestia continued. "Alpha has bonded with the legendary soul of Beta, the same colt who slaughtered hundreds of Ponies 900 years ago. Now that Beta is back, I fear that Equestria is at risk. A much higher risk of destruction than Discord or King Sombra ever dreamed of creating. If Alpha and Beta survive, you can be damned sure that Equestria will be in more risk of destruction than it has ever been." She walked to the table and gestured the guards to come forth. "Alpha has located and entered The Heart of Equestria." Celestia said, placing her hoof on the location of the Crystal Mountains. "You are to fly there and end his life. He will be armed. He was a _Dragon Metal_ wing, replacing the one he had lost fighting a royal convoy 3 years ago. Any Questions?" The suits of armor were silent except for the sound of metal scraping against metal as they moved, ever so slightly "Good. Go now!"

The Guards nodded. Shining Armor ran out of the armory, his guards following him. He turned left and right as he navigated through the maze of corridors. Once he located the garden, he extended both of his new found wings and took off into the dark sky, his guard's right behind. They took a hard left as they made their way toward the mountains, all eager to test out their new abilities but unaware of the galaxy-blue mare following close behind.

* * *

Alpha watched as the axe slowly fell toward him. He was stunned. He could not move. Beta, however, could. He instantly took over, blasting Shining Armor with his magic. He flew through the curtain, missing the fire by mere inches, and hit the rock wall at the other end of the room. Beta stood up, extending both wings. Shining Armor got up and stared at the handle of the axe in his grasp, the head of the axe was stuck in the side of the rock face on his right. He dropped the handle, lowered his head, keeping his eyes on Beta and charged.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: History is written by the winners

Shining Armor, encased by the legendary suit called _Estefania_, charged at Beta. He skidded to a halt when he was 10 meters away and whistled. Out of darkness came two of his guards, both encased in the suits of armor.

Originally there had been 5, but navigating through the mountain had been tricky. They had lost two of their own to the dark caves. Using magic for light was useless, for each time Shining or one of his guards tried to use magic, it was snuffed out almost instantly. Only Shining Armor, his lieutenant and the other guard had survived. To be fair, Shining had no clue who the other pony is armor was. He remembered coming in with 5 suits of armor, glowing green, red, blue, orange, and yellow. But this suit was glowing purple. He at first dismissed it as a glitch, considering the fact that the Suit was well over 900 years old and that it was not really ready for a fight. He kept his eye on it though. For whoever was in the suit knew its way through the mountain. And the last time he checked, Shining Armor was never given a map.

"Looks like he is stunned," His lieutenant remarked. "Nice shot."

Beta was unsteady on his hoofs. He was swaying from side to side.

"How the hell is that colt still standing?" The lieutenant asked, staring at Beta. "I would be knocked out cold from the impact of the spell, let alone standing and aware."

"You just didn't hit hard enough." Said the pony within the purple glowing suit. It sounded female.

"Sargent," Shining said, placing his hoof on the purple glowing suit. "Are you okay? Your voice sounds off."

The suit looked at Shining and tilted its head. Shining was unsure if it was a gesture of "Do you really need to ask?" or if it was just whoever was in the suit realized that he was speaking.

Beta struggled to keep his balance. He was stunned, let alone able to fight. He raised his head to look at the group of armored ponies to see that the suit of armor glowing purple turned its head to face him. He watched as one of its eye sockets flickered green.

"_Zeta…Figures..."_

Zeta was following Shining Armor from the moment he took flight to the mountains. Easily taking out three of the five guards in the dark caves with the help of Gamma, Zeta fitted herself with the armor. It fit perfectly, almost as if it was made specifically for her. She hid the bodies and caught up with Shining and his lieutenant.

"So, now what?" Zeta asked.

"Now," Shining replied, ignoring his Sargent's change of voice. "we execute him."

"A quick death or a slow one?"

"To be fair, the colt looks like he is already in enough pain as it is. It would be cruel to slowly kill him."

Zeta shot a glare at Shining. "That isn't a good idea."

"_The pony in that suit is not your Sargent, Captain." _

The three armored ponies looked at Beta. He was grimacing in pain. When he hit the wall from the impact of the spell, his left hind leg hit the wall first, breaking in two. His left hind leg looked like a Z.

"What do you mean?" Shining asked, aware that Beta may be hallucinating.

"_It isn't your Sargent."_

"How do you know?"

"_Your Sargent isn't a mare."_

Shining walked towards Beta. "And how would you know that?"

"_I know more than you do. You punish those who say or do the opposite of what you want them to do."_

"I do not!"

"_You don't. But Celestia does. And to be fair, you are here because she ordered you to kill me. If she never ordered you, you never would have been here in the first place."_

"Don't you dare talk about Celestia? You are a murderer, a killer. You kill for fun."

Beta lowered his head and sighed. The pain in his leg was worsening. _"Don't always trust Celestia. If you want to know the truth, you need to break some rules, enter what you are not allowed to enter. For example, I heard you defeated King Sombra." _

"Correct, my Queen and I did."

"_Why?"_

"Why? Are you serious? He was going to take over the Crystal Kingdom; enslave all who lived there. My Queen and I defeated him."

"_Did you defeat him because Celestia said so?"_

Shining took a step back, shocked. "What do you mean?"

Beta gritted his teeth as he lied down on the stone floor, his leg burning in pain. _"King Sombra was not always evil." _

"What are you talking about? Of course he was."

"_You are putting your beliefs on what your Princess has told you."_

"The Winner always writes the history."

"_But the loser knows the truth. What Celestia told you were only what she wanted you to know." _

"I know that. Celestia doesn't tell me everything before sending me on a mission. It annoys me but I tend to get over it. As for you, I already know about you."

"_What if what she told you was a lie? That King Sombra wasn't always the Evil spirit you saw trying to capture your Kingdom." _

"What are you trying to say? That King Sombra was a victim. That Princess Celestia lied to me? What reason would she have to lie to me?"

"_Exactly, she lied to you for one simple thing: Power." _

"Why would she need Power?"

"_What do you think I have been trying to do ever since I bonded with Alpha here? She needs power. If she did not need it, the facilities would not exist."_

Shining Armor's lieutenant had begun to make his way towards Beta. He was now standing right in front of him. Beta looked up and struggled to get on his hoofs.

"There is no need to stand up," The lieutenant said as he placed his hoof on Beta's head, forcing him down. "You will be dead soon."

Beta placed his right hoof on the lieutenant's chest plate. The armor, recognizing its original owner, deactivated. Beta looked at the Left metal brace covering the lieutenant's wing. At once it fell to the ground. Smiling, Beta watched as the metal flew to his left wing, covering it up. With his wing protected, Beta reactivated the armor. The Lieutenant screamed in pain as the armor that was covering him turned against him, slowly crushing him.

"_To be honest,"_ Beta said as he stood and watched the Lieutenant's body twitch as it finally died. _"This is MY Armor. Once I was defeated, Celestia salvaged what was left of the armor and repaired it. She then modified it, creating her own armor." _He said as he looked over his newly made wing, covering up and protecting the wing itself.

Shining began to step backwards. Zeta stayed her ground. They both watched as Beta got ready to attack, but instead of attacking, he teleported away.

"I wonder what he meant by 'Facilities. Anyways, I have a lot of questions for Celestia and YOU." Shining Armor said after realizing what just happened. He walked over to his Lieutenant's body and knelt beside it. He looked up and turned around. Zeta was already gone. He was alone. With a sigh, he placed his hoof on the guard's body and teleported, bringing the body with him to the castle.

Shining armor looked around. He was in the armory. He hated teleporting. It was painful and never went as planned. Celestia was waiting for him.

"What happened? Did you succeed?" Celestia said, a worried look covered her anger. She knew he didn't succeed.

"No, I did not. I lost all 5 of my best guards. I lost 4 to Zeta and 1 to Beta."

"Zeta?"

"A mare followed us to the Mountains. She took my Sargent's armor and refitted herself with it."

Celestia cursed under her breath. "Well, I am sorry for your loss."

"I understand, ma'am." Shining replied, his head lowered in grief.

Celestia turned and started to walk away when Shining spoke.

"I mean not to offend or ask of my orders, Ma'am."

Celestia turned her head. "Speak what is on your mind."

"It is something that Beta said. He kept talking about lies of you but what caught me off guard was that he knew of King Sombra and what you told me about him. He began talking of how Sombra wasn't always evil. Is it true?"

Celestia looked at Shining armor, her face full of sorrow. "Some things are better left untold. Get some rest, Captain." She said as she walked out.

"Yes, ma'am." Shining Armor replied, bitterly.

* * *

Beta appeared in a flash of red light, landing softly on the ground. It was dark. The moon had just begun to rise. Looking around he realized he was in the Town Square of Ponyville. He sighed, and allowed Alpha to take control. Once in control, Alpha bit his bottom lip in an attempt to not scream out.

"How did this happen?" He finally said after he mustered the willpower not to scream out.

"_It broke when you hit the wall after getting hit with the spell."_

Alpha checked over his left leg. It was broken alright. No doubt about that. It was broken above and below the kneecap. He struggled to get up.

"_Careful, Alpha, the leg is already broken, let's not damage it more than it already is." _

Alpha extended both wings in an attempt to keep his balance when he realized the new metal brace.

"What the hell?" He muttered as he examined the new metal.

"_Don't worry, It's just a brace, a shield. I took it off one of the suits of armor that attacked us."_

"What is it?"

"_It's my armor."_

"What!?" Alpha said in disbelief.

"_Your wing, the Dragon Metal, is a shard of my armor. The reason I knew how to create your wing is because I already created it before. The suit of armor you saw earlier was my own suit, the very one I used against Celestia. When I was defeated, she gathered what was left of my armor, destroying what was left of my body. She then modified it, creating her own armor. It is much more efficient than my own armor, considering I used dark magic to power it. She used the Elements of Harmony as a way to power it."_

Alpha slowly got up, placing his wait on his right hind leg and his front legs. Once he was balanced, he took a step forward and nearly fell to the ground.

"_Easy there, Alpha."_

Once he could move, Alpha limped to the market. Once there, he ran into John. John was frantic. He was sweating, breathing heavily as if he was running away from something.

"Alpha! Thank Celestia I found you. I need help!"

"Slow down, John, what is wrong?"

"It's Scootaloo, she hasn't returned from school. And I'm freaking out because I think I know where she went."

"Slow down, John. You are losing me."

John took a deep breath. "Today was the test to see if colts and fillies could fly. I was worried because Scootaloo can't fly."

"So what?" Alpha said, not understanding why John was so frantic. "She failed the test, she can redo it, right?"

"You don't understand. When you fail THAT test, you are seemingly exiled as you are never seen again."

Alpha's eyes widened as he realized what just happened.

"That isn't possible. The Facility is destroyed, I destroyed it! You saw me destroy it!"

"Remember what you told me. There is more than one facility."

* * *

Meanwhile…

"You have beautiful eyes."


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Charlie and Delta

"I would go and save her if I could but..."

"But what?"

Alpha turned around and showed John his leg. "My leg is broken."

"I can't believe it. You, the 13 year old colt who escaped the Rainbow factory, who had his wing burned off, will not go and save my daughter because his leg is broken." John was beyond amazed. "Fucking unbelievable," He turned around to leave when Alpha spoke.

"Wait." Alpha looked over his shoulder. "Beta, can you use the metal on my wing and modify it to fit my leg?"

John turned around stared at Alpha in disbelief.

Alpha sighed violently. "I know it isn't a good idea but I will not wait here while I know that his daughter is there right now and is possibly being killed or, most likely, being tortured."

John took a step forward, watching the white Pegasus. Alpha's expression changed as he watched the metal from his left wing slowly disconnected. One by one, the layers of metal removed themselves and floated to his broken leg. He bit his lip as the metal came into contact with his leg, forcing the broken bones to reconnect. John watched as Alpha shuddered in pain as the metal formed into a brace for his leg. Once the brace was completed, Alpha stretched his leg, wincing as tears streamed down his cheek.

"Let's go." He replied after he wiped his eyes, the pain in his leg decreasing.

"Let's go!? Where will we go?! She could be anywhere by now!" John asked, frantic.

"Cloudsdale." Alpha replied, looking up and spreading his wings.

"How do you know?" The red Pegasus replied, shocked.

Alpha nodded to where he was looking at. John turned and looked up at where Alpha nodded. He looked around, all he could see was the moon and clouds.

"What the hell are you looking at?" he asked Alpha, annoyed.

Alpha, without taking his eyes off what he was looking at, nodded again. "Look carefully and closer."

John looked back at where he was looking at and looked for anything different. His eyes widened as he saw how cleverly it was hidden. The Factory was hidden in the clouds. The only thing that gave it away was the black clouds of smoke escaping through its chimneys. Who ever built it used the night sky and the brightness of the moon to his/her advantage. The builder used the clouds to hide the factory, but used the light of the moon to make it seem that the black clouds of smoke where just clouds forming in the night sky.

"How do they rebuild the damn thing so fast?" John replied, spreading his wings.

"They have their ways." Alpha said as he took off into the starry night sky, John following close behind.

Once close enough to the Factory, Alpha slowed to a halt. He just floated there, staring at the building, at his own personal hell.

The Factory was heavily guarded. Guards in groups of 10 patrolled the airspace. 5 guards stood on the roof, looking for any non-permitted personnel or civilian that could potentially pose a threat. 3 more were posted at each entrance, 2 at each window. Celestia was not taking any chances.

"Why did you stop?" John asked.

Alpha didn't move or respond. He just kept staring at the building.

"For fucks sake." John growled as he flew around Alpha to face him. "We don't have time fo-" He stopped midsentence as he processed what he saw.

Alpha's Mane, tail, and eyes were flashing red and blue. He was shaking, shuddering. The pain in his leg set released the memories of being tortured in the factory. He wasn't shaking out of fear, he was shaking in rage; pure rage. The pain from the broken leg also affected Beta as well. The pain released his repressed memories of his childhood. He was having flashback after flashback of being beaten up, bullied, teased, alienated and ignored. Both Alpha's and Beta's rage was fighting for control. The bond between them was growing too much for a short period of time for it to control. It exploded within them. A halo of red and blue detonated as Alpha/Beta instantly broke the sound barrier as he bolted towards the factory.

* * *

The Guards on the roof were still unpacking their supplies. Their platoon had just arrived 5 minutes ago after Shining Armor appeared with a dead squad-mate, claiming that "He escaped, I did all that I could." Celestia was certainly shocked, because she had ordered a whole platoon of guards to guard this facility.

"Hey Sarge, what are we doing here?" one private asked, his armor glinting in the moon light.

"We have orders from Princess Celestia herself to protect this Facility."

"Why? It's just a facility, just a factory. We have hundreds of these in the city, why is this one so important?"

"That's none of your concern. Just keep a look out for any pony that isn't allowed to be here. That's an order."

The private nodded and turned around to see a halo of red and blue appear in the distance. "Sarge…." He said in fear, backing up slowly.

"What now?" The Sargent replied, annoyed.

The private pointed at the halo with his hoof. "That!"

"Shit. Everyone up, we got an incoming threat!" He barked as he took out his radio. "We got a civilian inbound at our 12." His squad ran to the edge of the roof and readied themselves, their horns glowing. The Sargent walked up behind them and squinted at the white dot. "Looks like a Pegasus, a colt. Skin color white, Mane color unknown. He is getting here quite fast. Need Assistance over."

A voice came over the radio. "ROGER THAT. TEAMS RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN ARE INBOUND TO ASSIST. ETA: 5 MINUTES!"

"Sarge, we don't have 5 minutes!" The private replied, Watching as Alpha flew closer.

"Negative! That is too long. I am calling a-" The Sargent stopped as he realized who the colt was. "It's Him! Fire everything you got at your 12, now!" static filled the radio. "Hello?! Did any pony read me?! It's Alpha! He is here. He is coming! We need assistance now!" He stopped at looked at his squad. "Fire when ready, mares, we are about to have company."

The private nodded and began firing bolts of magic at the incoming threat along with the rest of his crew.

"This is Luna. I read you loud and clear and am inbound on your location. ETA 30 seconds. I will be coming on your left."

"It has been an honor serving with you ponies. I could never have been more proud of a squad." The Sargent said, watching Alpha fly at them.

* * *

Alpha was flying at Mach 3 towards the factory. He felt an excruciating pain in his leg and looked back, thinking that the brace had flown off. It hadn't. The bond between Alpha and Beta had grown so much in the last few minutes, that it had healed his leg. No longer holding the broken bone in place, Beta released the brace and covered Alpha's left wing.

He had 1000 meters left. He began weaving through the incoming bolts.

"Beta?"

750 meters. He was spinning, barrel rolling through the debris.

"_Yes?"_

500 meters. The bolts of magic stopped. Alpha leveled himself and aimed towards the wall

"Leave none alive."

250 meters. Beta fired a dark red bolt of magic at the wall

"_I was waiting for the day you would say that." _

The wall exploded as Beta's spell impacted the wall. Alpha flew in, landed and spun around, his wings slicing through several guards, instantly killing them. Beta began firing off shots, each aimed at a guard. In less than 5 seconds, 15 guards laid dead on the ground, brutally killed by Alpha and Beta. His mane and tail were different, streaks of blue and red glowed in the dark. His right eye was red while his left was brown.

"_Let's _go." Alpha and Beta said at same time. The duo ran down the hall, unaware of what was happening within of them. Guards rushed out of the hallways and were instantly liquefied by Beta's rage. Alpha continued to gallop down the hall, making his way past the blood and guts of what remained of the guards and headed for the cells.

"_Something's different." _Beta remarked.

"Like what?"

"_For starters, our hair is colored both red and blue, and is glowing"_

"What?!" Alpha exclaimed as he skidded to a halt. He looked ahead and saw his hair in front of his eyes, glowing with a white hue. "The hell?" He shook his head and began to gallop down the hallway. "We don't have time to examine it; we gotta find Scootaloo before it's too late!" He ran past the cafeteria and froze. Alpha/Beta watched as colts, fillies, stallions and mares walk about, going to their designated jobs. He extennded both his wings and made his way down the filled corridors, purposely trying to make as much noise as possible. While Alpha was looking around for Scootaloo, he ran head on into a guard.

"That's It!" The guard said as he got to his hoofs, Mr. Sparky in his left hoof, buzzing with electricity. The ponies around circled around waiting to see what was going to happen. "You will-" the Guard stopped as he looked at the colt with the metal wing. Alpha got up and blankly stared at the guard.

"If you want to live, drop Mr. Sparky, and get out of here." Alpha said, calmly. To the disbelief of the Ponies watching, the guard dropped Sparky and gallopedfor his life. Alpha turned around and addressed the ponies. "I am looking for an orange filly called Scootaloo. The faster you help me, the faster you will all be set free from this fucking factory. You have my word."

"She's in the torture room" a voice in the crowd replied. The crowd parted to reveale the blue mare with the rainbow mane that spoke. She was covered in bruises and cuts. Her right wing was horribly disfigured, while her mane was losing color in spots. Rainbow Dash was hurt but she wasn't the one who hurt Scootaloo.

"How do you know this?" Alpha replied, his mane pulsating.

Dash looked up at Alpha. "I put her there."

Alpha's eyes widened as he realized who she was. "You sick fuck! You tortured her!" He looked over her. "I see she nearly kicked your ass." He chuckled.

Dash looked over herself, looking at the cuts bleeding and the blood. "This isn't from her and I never tortured her. I am a double agent, working for Luna. I was given the Job by Zeta on the day you left for the city." She looked back at Alpha. "If you want to know why you are still alive, find Zeta; she will tell you everything, for a price."

Alpha ran past Dash for the torture room. Beta shot several bolts of light at the door, instantly splintering it. Once the smoke cleared, Alpha's eyes widened as he stood in shock.

Scootaloo was in really bad shape. Her wings had hooks in them that were chained to the ceiling, holding her a few feet above the ground. Her left and right front legs were broken and teeth were scattered on the ground. Dried blood stained her mane and her ears were cut. Blood was running from her nose, bubbling as she breathed in and out in her unconscious state.

Alpha felt his rage rise within him. He cut through the chains with his wing as Beta slowly brought her to the table. Once on the table, Beta took control as he slowly removed the hooks that were punctured through the poor filly's left wing, making sure to not cause any more damage. He was taking out hooks in her right wing when John appeared at the door way. Beta looked up, saw John, and sighed.

John was shaking in shock, his eyes wide and his jaw open. "Is she dead?"

Beta shook his head. _"No, but she is not good. If she doesn't get medical attention in the next hour, she will die from blood loss. She was tortured slowly."_ He nodded to the left side of the table. A pile of bloody hooks laid on the ground. _"She had these punctured through her wings." _He said as he removed another hook and placed it on the ground beside him. _"She has cuts all over her body, her front legs are broken, and…" _Beta looked around on the ground. John followed his gaze until his eyes met with a bloodied tooth. Beta took out the last hook in Scootaloo's right wing. Letting Alpha take control, heraised Scootaloo and placed her on John's back, making sure she wouldn't fall off.

"Let's go." Alpha said as he walked to John. He stopped when he was right beside him and looked at Scootaloo. "She will be alright. I promise."

John had tears running down his cheeks as he looked at his injured, unconscious daughter. "I hope so."

"_John, I and Alpha will go ahead. We will signal for you to come so you can leave. But that is all I can do." _Beta took of his money pouch and gave it to John. _"You will need it more than us. Good Luck." _ He said and took off down the corridor. Giving Alpha back control, he began to rip open the cell doors, freeing those inside.

"LET'S GO PONIES. COME ON, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DIDDLE DADDLE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING!" Alpha screamed as he galloped down the Aisle. "WE GOTTA GO!" Beta shot a jet of magic at a wall, completely destroying it. Through the haze and dust came the light of the moon and stars. "THAT'S YOUR TICKET OUTTA HERE. LET'S GO!" Ponies one by one began pouring out of the hole in the wall, flying towards their freedom. Beta began shooting jets of light at the walls, and watched as the balls began to infect and destroy. Alpha ran back, and took one last look in each cell, making sure no-pony would be left behind. He was near the last cells when he noticed one was still shut.

"_That's odd. I swear I opened all of them." _Beta said.

"Open it, slowly." Alpha replied, cautious of what was in there. The door opened slowly, staying in its hinges and not flying backwards. Alpha slowly walked into the cell to see a colt lying on the ground, staring at him. His mane and tail were brown-turning-cherry red, his skin tan, and his eyes dark brown. Alpha took a step forward to the colt and leaned towards him. His right eye flickered blue. The colt stared at him in fear.

Alpha's wings instantly extended without Alpha meaning to extend them. He stopped dead in his tracks, and looked back at his wings. "Wait, what?" He asked himself, confused to why they would open by themselves and not close.

Beta sighed slowly; the equivalent to a face-hoof. _"This will get very interesting in the next few years."_

Alpha shook his head, and watched as the wings slowly closed. He then turned his attention to the colt.

"It's okay; I'm not here to hurt you." Alpha said calmly.

"No, it's not you I'm afraid of. It's me. I'm different than the rest. I'll hurt you. Get away from me." The colt replied as turned his head away, his eye was flickering blue and brown.

Alpha lied down in front of him. "Hey, look at me." The colt turned to face Alpha and watched as Alpha's right eye flickered brown. _"You aren't the only one different from the rest, and I doubt you could hurt us." _

"You are like us!" The colt said amazed, getting on his hoofs.

"Quite so." Alpha said as he stood up, smiling. He turned his head and heard the sounds of hoofs hitting the ground. He looked back at the colt. "What's your name?"

"Charlie."

"And the other?"

"_The name's Delta." _ His mane and tail flickered from cherry red to galaxy blue.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Alpha."

"_Beta." _

The sounds of the guards were growing louder. "Charlie, we don't have much time, Do you know how to fly?" Alpha asked, his heart thumping hard.

Charlie extended his wings and nodded. "Of course."

Alpha walked out of the cell and watched as the guards began pouring out of the doors, surrounding him. "Charlie, get out of here!" He extended his wings and felt Beta rise within him. Alpha turned back and looked at Charlie. Charlie was still there, standing and looking back at him. "Charlie! Go! I'll be fine!" Instead of running away, Charlie walked out of the cell and watched as the Guards ran at them.

"You aren't the only one with a special gift, Beta." Charlie sighed as Delta took over, his mane, tail and eyes glowed blue. Alpha watched as the colt stepped in front of him, his wings extended as if he was going to protect him.

"_I have my gift too. And we deserve to be here after what we have done."_ Delta said as an orb of light appeared floating above his forehead. 15 small orbs of light flew out of the main orb and landed in front of Delta. As each orb hit the ground, an Alicorn made of light and magic appeared. Alpha's and Beta's jaws dropped instantly. Soon there was 15 Alicorns, all made of light, in front of Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta. _"Go! Run! We got this! Go!"_ Delta told Alpha.

"HALT!" The Alicorns said in unison, their voices booming throughout the factory. "YOU WILL LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS AND SURRENDER OR YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES."

The Guards stopped instantly. Walking through the guards was one Galaxy blue Alicorn; Nightmare Moon.

"Oh?" Nightmare Moon replied sarcastically. "And who are you to tell us what to do?"

The Alicorns materialized into flesh. "WE ARE THE PAST KINGS AND QUEENS OF EQUESTRIA, PRINCESS LUNA. STAND DOWN."

Alpha/Beta could not believe what they were witnessing. He looked down and saw Charlie/Delta on the ground, unconscious. _"Shit, that amount of power was too much, he's unconscious. Hell, even I would be unconscious after doing what he just did." _Alpha ran over to his side, Beta easily lifting Charlie/Delta up and placed him on Alpha's back. With the unconscious colt on his back, Alpha walked behind one of the King Alicorns and nudged it.

"YES?" The King Alicorn replied, looking over its shoulder at Alpha.

"Charlie/Delta is unconscious. I will be taking him with me, escaping and leaving this hell hole. Will you be able to stall them long enough?"

The King Alicorn looked in front of himself, and watched Luna. Luna was furious, screaming and raging. The guards around her had begun to back up from her, giving her some room. The King Alicorn looked back at Alpha. "WE WILL. GO NOW! RUN! BE FREE FROM THIS ABOMINATION OF A FACTORY!" The King replied.

"Thanks." Alpha said as he turned around and ran towards the hole in the wall. The Ceiling had already disappeared. The whole roof of the facility was pretty much gone. Beta opened up Alpha's bag and took out the blanket that Luna had given them 6-7 hours ago. He then wrapped it around the colt's back and Alpha's underbelly, securing the colt to Alpha.

"_It's tightly secured. He won't fall off now. Let's go!" _

Alpha nodded as he jumped through the hole, his wings extended, escaping the factory. Alpha only flew by himself. He never flew with a colt on his back. He began plummeting towards the ground.

"Fuck this. Beta, can you teleport us?"

"_working on it, hang on!" _

Alpha closed his eyes as he was engulfed in a blinding flash of light as Beta teleported them away.

* * *

John was at the Hospital. He was pacing back and forth in the waiting room as the doctors performed on Scootaloo to save her life. When the nurse asked what happened, John told her everything. She sat through it all and when John finished she left. About 5 minutes later, she came back with a mare unicorn, a psych Therapist. John then told her the same thing he had told the nurse. The therapist replied that he was experiencing hallucinations from the amount of shock he was in from seeing and finding her daughter. She arranged several meetings for him to come in to talk to her. John stared at her, then calmly, at once, got up and left. "No wonder Alpha ever tells any pony about this. No-one will believe him." He told himself as he walked outside for a breath of fresh air. He looked up at where the factory was and saw the building engulfed in light. He chuckled as he watched it fall apart. Alpha appeared about 20 feet in front of him, teleporting from falling.

"Alpha?" John said in shock. He galloped to the colt. Alpha was still breathing and awake.

"I'm fine. I'm good." He said as he struggled to stand up. He looked over his shoulder and was relieved to see Charlie/Delta still on his back, although unconscious. "Oh, hello John, nice to see you escaped." He said once he noticed John. "Where am I?"

"The Hospital, come on. Let's get him," John nodded to the colt on Alpha's back. "-inside."

Alpha nodded and followed John into the Hospital. The Therapist was waiting for John and gasped in shock when she saw Alpha with Charlie/Delta on his back. Alpha broke off from John and walked to some chairs. Beta untied the blanked securing Charlie/Delta and placed him on the chair. He then covered him with the blanket.

"Will he be okay?" Alpha asked Beta.

"_I'm pretty sure he wi-"_

"SWEET CELESTIA!" The Therapist yelled as she made her way to Alpha and Charlie. Charlie's hair began to return from its blue shade to cherry-red. "Are you alright?! What happened to you?! Oh my gosh!" The therapist said in shock as she looked over Alpha's metallic brace. She began to take it off when Alpha had enough.

"DO NOT TOUCH THAT!" He yelled as he spread his wings and stepped between the therapist and Charlie, defending him instinctively. "DO NOT TOUCH US!"

"Poor colt, you are insane. I'm trying to help you." the therapist replied.

"You can't help us. Not with what we have been through."

"We?"

"John, Scootaloo, Charlie and I. You wouldn't believe us if we told you what happened."

"Nurse, get me a sedative." The Therapist told the nurse.

"_Inject us with anything and I will personally rip off your horn from skull and shove it down your spine." _Beta replied, staring at the therapist. He turned to the nurse who was walking toward the therapist, a needle filled with transparent liquid following behind her. _"Do you have any spare patient rooms available? We have bits, we can pay."_ The Nurse stopped and stared at Beta. The therapist was staring at the nurse.

"Well, give it to me." The Therapist demanded of the Nurse. The nurse looked at Beta and Charlie then at the Therapist.

"Oh, here." The nurse said; stabbing the needle into therapist's left thigh.

"What are you…" the therapist dropped face first into the floor, her head bouncing as her nose hit the ground first then fell to its right, instantly dead asleep.

The Nurse looked at Alpha and Charlie. "We have only one room available, sorry. You can use it if you like, no need to pay." She nodded to the therapist. "She has been a bitch for the past 4 weeks, so she will pay for it. Follow me." Beta placed Charlie on Alpha's back again then Alpha followed the nurse down the hallway. She open a door on her left and gestured Alpha inside. "This is our only room. There is only one bed, sadly."

Alpha walked over to the bed and with Beta's help, placed Charlie on the bed and covered him with the blankets. "Thanks, we will be okay. " He replied, tired but cheerfully.

"You are welcome. Good night." The nurse replied as she shut the door. Alpha turned around and dragged a chair to Charlie's bedside. Taking off both of his metallic braces and placing them beneath the bed, Alpha sat down on the chair and laid his head down across his front legs, crossed on the side handle of the bed and fell asleep, not leaving Charlie's side.

Something he will do for years to come.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The Therapist

**Nightmare**, Noun: A terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.

"I don't understand. What did I do wrong?!" Alpha cried, struggling to get free from the cuffs that were binding him to the metal table.

"You spared a mare from her death. You protected her, saving her from injury or death. Under normal circumstances, you would already be dead, fed to the machine, but I have specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive."

* * *

Beta awoke and manually took over control. _"Shit, not again."_ He muttered as he felt Alpha trying to take control subconsciously. Beta could feel Alpha's pain as he twitched in an effort to stop his friend from screaming out. Once the pain and the twitching subsided, He felt Alpha nudging at him, his own way of saying "I'm okay, don't worry. Let me back in." Beta looked up and saw Charlie, still sleeping silently on the bed. Nodding slowly, he pushed himself off the chair and onto the ground. Reaching under the bed for the metallic braces and putting them on, he quietly made his way to the door and left the room, closing the door as quietly as he could. He then let Alpha take control.

"What was that for?" Alpha muttered as he looked around the hallway.

"_If I hadn't taken over, you would have screamed and cried out, waking up not just Charlie and Delta, but the whole Hospital." _Beta replied.

Alpha sighed as he realized what happened again. "It's getting worse; the nightmares. It's always about THAT day." He looked down the hallway on his right and saw John pacing back and forth in front of a window. Alpha walked towards him. "Hey, how is she?"

John looked up, saw Alpha, and smiled in relief. "Better now that she is here. The doctors are working on her." He said, nodding towards the window.

"Will she be alright?" Alpha asked, peering through the window. Inside the room there were bloody hoof prints everywhere as the doctors rushed back and forth, left and right, as they frantically tried to help save the orange filly's life.

"I don't know. I hope she will be." John said without taking his eyes off of the window.

"_Their main concern will be internal damage and bleeding." _

John looked down at Alpha. "What do you mean? What about the hooks in her wings?"

"_The hooks in her wing DID puncture all the way through, but it did not hit any major arteries or blood vessels. Whoever did it to her was a professional. This means that A. Alpha and I will find the asshole and kill him slowly and B. she won't die from them. However, the RF is a horrible place, they don't sanitize anything. The worst thing that can happen to her wings is that they can become severely infected." _

"And how is this supposed to help me?" John replied.

"_I'm not finished yet. As for any and all external wounds that you can see, none of them are fatal. The same cannot be said about internally." _

John's eyes widened.

"_Internal Bleeding is really hard to…"_ Beta looked for the right word. _"Fix, per se. If the damage is with her stomach and/or intestines, she has a low percentage of survival, EVEN with my help."_

John quickly looked back at his daughter.

"_But any internal damage is extremely unlikely. The worst internal damage she has is that her two front legs are broken, besides that, nothing else."_ Alpha peered through the window at Scootaloo. _"She will live. But this event will not go away easily. We are still having problems with it even though it happened 3 years ago." _

John slowly turned to Alpha. "What do you mean?"

Alpha shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm fine." He replied.

The door opened behind Alpha and out came a doctor. "Mr. John? I have good news and bad news." The doctor said as he closed the door.

"Bad news first." John replied.

"Your daughter's wings are infected. Severely infected. No amputation is needed, but it will cost you." The doctor said.

"How much?" John asked.

"50 Bits."

John looked at Alpha. Alpha looked back and slowly nodded in reply, then turned around and headed outside.

"Okay, I'll do it." John said as he nodded to the Doctor. "Can I go and see her?"

"She will live, and yes, you can." The doctor said with a smile.

* * *

Alpha was in the lobby when he saw the Therapist, the one who was stabbed in the leg with the sedative. Alpha realized that she was an Alicorn. Her skin was purple while her mane and tail were purple with a pink streak down the middle. Her cutie mark was a purple star with smaller stars around it. She was slowly coming to. He walked over to her and helped her up, standing by her so she can use him for balance. "Are you okay?" He asked her when she realized who he was.

"I've been better. I was just stabbed in the thigh with a needle laced with a sedative." She said as she glared at him. With a grunt, she pushed off of him, swaying side to side as she regained her balance. "Never mind me, are you okay?" She asked him, staring at his right wing brace. The Therapist watched as his eyes flickered red to brown as Beta and Alpha talked. "That isn't normal." She said as she leaned towards Alpha.

Alpha's eye stopped flickering right as she said that and was now red. He blinked and stared at the therapist, listening to her. She took a step back, cautious.

"_What we have been through isn't what you would consider right or normal." _

"We?"

"_Correct. You are talking to Two ponies here, not just one." _

"Oh? And who are you?"

"_That is not important. What is important is that what John told you is true." _

Her jaw dropped open. "How did you know I was talking to him? No pony was in the room besides us, and that room is completely sound proof!"

"_It does not matter how I know what he was telling you. What matters is what he told you is true." _

She turned around and nodded to her left. "Let's go into my office, we can talk there."

Alpha nodded as he followed her down the hallway and into her office. "Keep your guard up, I do not like this. I feel like I'm being watched."

"_I know the feeling, Im getting it too."_

He entered the office and looked around. The office walls were painted with a boring orange. There was a sofa and a chair on the right, a desk cluttered with pens, papers, and folders on the left.

"_A cluttered desk shows a cluttered mind."_ Beta said aloud.

"Hmm? Oh!" the Therapist said as she realized what Beta meant. She shook her head in deep thought. "Lots of ponies need help. What are your names?"

"_I was about to ask you the same. The name is Beta."_

Her eyes widened as she spun around and stared at the young colt. "_The_ _Beta_, as the Beta from 900 years ago? That went on a murderous rampage, killing all that he hated?!"

Alpha nodded. "The one and only, and I am Alpha. And you are?"

The Therapist sighed and sat down on the chair near the sofa. "The name is Twilight Sparkle." She held a hoof up. "I know, I know, "What is a Princess doing here?" I came here because I am once again on Celestia's lessons." She took a deep breath and lowered her head. "So much stuff is going on now, between this "Rainbow factory" and "Celestia is a monster," I'm having a hard time to keep up with all of it." Twilight looked up to see Alpha, his head tilted to one side and his right eye red. "Well, sit here on the sofa." She said as she patted the sofa. "And tell me what happened."

Alpha did not move. He looked around the room, getting his bearings of where he was. After he was satisfied, he looked back at Twilight and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

"We will not tell you, but we can show you." Alpha replied as he walked towards the sofa and unfastened his bag. Twilight watched as he took out a jar of what looked like blood.

"Why do you have a jar of blood?"

"It isn't a jar of blood." Alpha replied as he picked it up and offered it to Twilight. "Open it."

"Why?"

"The rainbow factory is essentially a torture house." Alpha explained as he got on the sofa and lied down. "To create rainbows, you need a huge amount of magic. Apparently, Young Pegasi blood is made up of untapped magic; insane untapped magic."

"_Almost as powerful as yours." _Beta remarked.

"And how do they get this magic? Where do the pegasi come from?" Twilight asked.

"The Pegasi are the pegasi who fail the flying test in Cloudsdale. All of those who fail don't go to exile, they are sent to the factory, "Never to be seen again."" Alpha nervously sighed. He started to extend and retract his right wing slowly, thinking of the RF.

Twilight tilted her head. She knew from other past patients who claimed that the RF was real had a hard time explaining how the magic was created. But she needs to know how it was created. "How is the magic created?"

Alpha was visually shaking in fear now, trying to push the repressed memories back down. _"It's not created, its…its" _Beta tried to find the right word. _"It's stolen. They kill them. They torture and kill them. They have a machine that pretty much drains their blood and transforms it into rainbows._ _If you think what I did when I was alive was bad, then the Rainbow Factor IS hell." _

Alpha nodded to the jar beside him on his left. "That jar is not just filled with blood. Open it and it turns into a rainbow-colored liquid." He said.

Twilight stared at the jar of blood, scared and curious of it at once. Slowly, she grabbed the jar and uncapped it. She dropped it in shock as she watched it turn into its original state. Alpha tracked the jar as Beta caught it with his magic. The cap for the jar flew out of Twilight's hoof as Beta took it and closed the jar, the liquid inside turning back into its blood-red state. She looked up at Alpha to see him looking at her.

Twilight began to shake her head in disbelief. "That isn't real. This has to be a dream." She said as she began to realize what John said explained. What all her patients today explained. It all began to make sense. "All the patients, the wounds they had, they stories they told, It's all real?" Alpha nodded. "It shou- WOULD YOU STOP THAT!?" She screamed at Alpha.

He realized what he was doing and retracted his wing once more. "Sorry, it's a nervous habit."

"Why do you have that thing over your wing anyway?" She said, calming down.

"It's not over my wing. It _is_ my wing." Alpha replied calmly. He looked to his right and watched as Beta took off the brace, showing her what was left of his right wing; the burnt, cauterized piece of flesh that was left. "It was taken off the day I turned 11. It was a punishment because I saved a red mare from hurting herself from my welding torch." He closed his eyes and tried his best to break down as he remembered that nightmarish day. "I was supposed to die as punishment, but the guards said "Under normal circumstances, you would be dead already, fed to the machine, but I have specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive." He reopened his eyes and turned to look at Twilight. Her eyes were wide open, all exhaustion pushed away. Her mouth was open, in shock of his story. Alpha gritted his teeth as Beta slipped his brace back on.

Twilight closed her eyes. "This has turned into a nightmare." She opened them to see Alpha refastening his bag, the jar of blood gone.

He turned around and open the door. Before he left he turned around and looked at Twilight. "You don't even know what a Nightmare is yet." He looked forward and left, leaving Twilight in a state of shock and fear. Alpha walked through the lobby and into the hallway. He peered through the window into Scoot's room and saw John hugging Scootaloo, crying in joy that she was awake and alive.

"_Seems like we saved her." _

Alpha nodded in reply as he walked to Charlie's room. "Let's see how he is doing." He was about to open the door when he heard something metallic hit the floor. Beta instantly rose within him, his guard up, looking for danger. Alpha looked around, the hallway to his right and left was empty. He pushed the door open to see Charlie/Delta still asleep. He closed the door and turned around.

"_What's wrong?"_

"That sound sounded much like armor." Alpha said as he walked down the left hallway.

"_There is no way they could have found us. I teleported us away from the factory! Unless they learned how to track where a pony is going if they teleported, which I highly doubt, they could not have found us."_

Alpha looked around. He felt like he was being watched. And if he had that feeling, it was because he was being watched. He stopped dead in his tracks and swore. "Fuck!"

"_What?"_

Alpha slowly shook his head. "Twilight, That Bitch! She must have sent Celestia a message."

"She did." Said a voice to his right.

Alpha looked to his right, down a dark hallway. There, in the middle of the hallway, glowed one purple and one green eye in the darkness.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Battle of the Victims

Alpha stared at the glowing eyes in the middle of the hallway.

"_Shit, Zeta. We can't fight here. If we do, we can risk everything we have ever worked for. They could actually frame us with evidence of us attacking and destroying a hospital. We would be fucked!" _

"What do we do?" Alpha muttered under his breath.  
_"Only one thing we can do. Run."_

Alpha stared at Zeta. He watched as she walked from the darkness, her armor flickering on, glowing purple, as she made her way towards him.

"Hello, Alpha." Zeta said from within her armor. "Like my new armor?" She said as she looked over herself, the armor glinting in the light. "It does quite fuck up any and all stealth missions, but hell, it'll protect me from any and all power." The metal clinked and clanked as it hit the floor as she made her way towards him.

Alpha was already running down the hallway. "Really hope your ghost of us fools her long enough."  
_"So do I, keep running though."_

Zeta was now a hoof away from Alpha's face. "I was about to ask- wait a minute." She squinted her eyes as she looked at Alpha. He wasn't breathing, he wasn't blinking. He wasn't actually moving.  
_"It's not Alpha. It's a ghost. Something to stall you."  
_"That clever bastard." She said as she swiped her hoof across the ghost. It vanished as it met with her metal gauntlet. "Fool me once, shame on me." She muttered as she placed her all her weight on her hind legs. "Fool me twice, you die." Pushing off her hind legs with all her strength, she galloped down the hallway, in search of her target.

* * *

Charlie slowly woke up and looked around. It was too dark for him to see, only seeing the outline of the door from the hallway light. Pushing the covers off, he hopped off the bed, landing chest first on the ground with a thud.

"Oof!"

"_You okay?" _Delta asked.  
"The last time I checked, our bed was on the ground." Charlie replied as he stood up. "And the floor wasn't clean" He added as he swiped the floor with his right hoof.  
_"We are in a hospital. Alpha brought us here after we fell unconscious."  
_"But I'm not hurt." Charlie said as he felt himself, looking for any wounds. "I'm okay."

He made his way towards the door but stopped before it. He was felt like he was being watched but shrugged it off as being paranoid and went to reach for the doorknob when it spoke.

"Don't open the door."

Charlie froze. "Why not?"

"Because if she finds me, I'm dead."

Charlie looked to his right and saw the light switch. He turned his back to the door and flicked the switch up. There were bloody hoof prints on the ground. His eyes followed them and found its source. Alpha was hurt, lying on the ground in front of the window. His scar was open and bleeding, his left wing was broken while his right metallic wing was bent downwards. His eyes however caught Charlie and Delta off guard. While Charlie and Delta were used to seeing blood, Alpha's eyes were staring right at Charlie. The light switch turned off, Beta turning off the lights.

"So," Alpha muttered. "How long do you think you have?"

Charlie slowly made his way towards Alpha. "What do you mean? How long do I have for what?"

"To live."

Charlie was now in front of Alpha. "What are you talking about?"

"I know what you are going through, the depression. No pony ever says they don't want to leave the RF without a good reason." Alpha replied, gritting his teeth as the pain in his left wing worsened. "So I ask again, how long do you think you have?"

Charlie began to see Alpha's face, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. He lied down on the ground and placed his head on his front legs. "Don't know, Couple of months perhaps? You?" Charlie watched as Alpha's eyes, glowing in the dark, looked up and moved, following something behind him. He looked behind himself to see a suit of armor, glowing purple, walking past the room.

_"Who is that?" _Delta asked as Charlie got up and walked to the window to the hallway.

"Zeta and Gamma, Luna's Assassin." Alpha replied, Beta cloaking himself.

Delta's eyes widened when he heard her name. It wasn't possible. She was dead. He saw her die by Beta's… Delta turned around and looked at Alpha, who was now uncloaked and was watching him. Charlie walked over to Alpha. _"I remember you. I know you, Beta."_

"_Took you long enough, Delta." _Beta chuckled. _"If you were wondering, that," _He nodded to the hallway. _"Is your sister."_

"_How can you be sure?"  
_

_"I remember those I killed. I remember who hurt me back then, who hated and bullied me." _Beta's voice seemed to get deeper in tone as he remember and retold his darkest part of his life.

Delta turned around and looked at the door. A suit of Armor, glowing neon purple in patches and streaks, was peering through the glass frame.

"_I killed those who hurt me because I could not take it any longer."_ Beta replied, staring at Zeta. The door opened and in came the suit of armor. _"Half of Ponyville hated me because I was a mutant, like you. Just like you." _

"_Come now, Beta. We all knew you were different."_ Gamma's voice came through from the suit. _"We bullied you because you were weak. Hell, even my brother was like you." _

"_So you do remember me? I thought you forgotten about me." _Delta interrupted. _"I wouldn't be surprised, you always were the mean one in the family." _

"_Delta, is that you in there? It has been a long time. How's mom and dad?"  
_

_"Dead, no thanks to you." _ Delta replied, annoyed.

Zeta peered at Alpha, who was staring at her, watching her every move. _"I see you met my friend, Beta, or should I say murderer." _

With the door open, Twilight snuck her way into the room to listen.

"_You know why I killed you." _Beta said. _"I told you why when I tortured you." _

"_Yes, but I would like to know why you killed me."_ Gamma replied.

"_He killed you because you weren't only hurting him, you were hurting others." _Delta answered.

"_Delta, I will deal with you later. But before I kill him, I want to know why I died."_ Gamma said, turning her attention to Beta.

"_Your little brother already told you, and he is right. Not only were you hurting me, you were hurting countless others. Before I died I promised myself to make sure all bullies were punished. And I lived up to that promise." _Beta said.

"You will not kill him for he is innocent." A voice said behind Alpha. All the ponies in the room looked out the window to see Nightmare Moon, hovering in place.

The bond between Alpha and Beta began to repair both of Alpha's wings.

Nightmare moon opened the window and climbed into the room. "He is an innocent, a victim. He died reacting to the pain. And somepony here is the reason why a battle broke out after he was defeated." She turned her attention to Delta, leaning in close. "The Battle of the Victims."

"_How do you know?"_ Delta replied, shocked that Nightmare Moon knew what he had done.

"Just because I was banished to the moon does not mean I am blind to what happened in Equestria." She replied. "From what I know and saw, Delta here saw Beta die. In an attempt for revenge, he gathered the remains of the victims that Beta had spared, creating a loose army of the bullied, the hated, the ignored and the alienated. Ages ranged from 8 years of age to 50 years of age in this army."

"_I only did it because it needed to be done. Celestia could have done something, but instead she decided to not help and watch as Beta was bullied and hurt. She waited for him to go on a rampage. She wanted him to go on a rampage." _Delta interrupted. _"It had to be done. Something had to be done!"_

"What happened?" Alpha asked.

Delta lowered his head. _"The Battle of the Victims began. After Beta was defeated, I thought Celestia would be weak, so I gathered the rest of the victims that Beta spared and attacked her." _ He sat down beside the bed. _"It went on for so long. So many mutants, so much untapped, unknown, uncontrollable power was unleashed." _He closed his eyes and began to slowly shake his head, regretting what he did. _"We were all angry. A fellow mutant killed by our so-called princess, the one who banished her own sister to the moon for 10 centuries, the Alicorn that could raise the sun, Celestia. We wanted revenge." _ He said, anger creeping into his voice. _"We came together at the base of Canterlot and began our ascent to the castle." _Delta took a deep breath and looked up at Nightmare Moon. _"In the end, we failed. Celestia did not show any mercy. She slaughtered and tortured us. To be honest, I'm more afraid of your sister than I am of you, and I hate her as much as Beta hates my sister." _

Alpha struggled as he got up and limped his way to Charlie's side. Once there, he placed his metallic wing around Charlie in an attempt to comfort Delta. Before he could do so, however, he was hit in the side by a bolt of magic and flew backwards by Zeta and Gamma; an attempt to end his life. He hit the wall and fell to the ground, badly injured.

"What are you doing!? Stand down!" Nightmare Moon yelled at Zeta.

"We aren't under orders from you." Zeta replied. She pushed past Nightmare moon and went to the struggling white Pegasus, stained in his own blood. His metallic wing laying on the ground, all bent and disfigured, and placed her metal gauntlet on his back. "Don't worry, this isn't personal." She stopped then added, "Well to me, of course." Her horn began to glow as she got ready to end his life.

Unbeknownst to Zeta and Gamma, Delta had other plans...


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The King Unicorn

Everything seemed to slow down to a stop for Delta. He saw a purple Alicorn hiding on the other side of the bed, her head just poking above, watching. He saw Nightmare moon, her armor glowing galaxy blue, screaming at Zeta and his sister, who until just now, didn't know was alive and here. The Suit of Armor which encased Zeta and his sister, Gamma. But that could not have been Gamma. He saw Gamma die by Beta's hoofs: tortured and burned alive. That didn't matter now. None of it mattered. The only thing that did was what Zeta and Gamma were about to do.

* * *

Zeta was about to end the white colt's life when something bright appeared in her vision on her right. Mistaking it for her younger brother's feeble attempt to stop her, Gamma nudged Zeta to stay focused. The bolt of white light flashed downwards, aimed at Alpha's side: the bolt of death. Before it hit him however, it was stopped by a Hoof made of light, outstretched from the right where the bright light had appeared.

"That," A voice said as Zeta watched the hoof materialized from light to flesh. "Was a bad move."

Zeta and Gamma looked to their right to see a Unicorn, a stallion, materialize in front of her. His coat was gray, his mane and tail black, his eyes red, and a black crown on his head. His horn was different than most other Unicorns that Zeta and Gamma had previously seen. Usually, Unicorn Horns are one color, the color of the unicorn's coat. But this Unicorn's horn was different, following the tip, it turned gray to red. The way this Unicorn stood was like a guard at the castle; chest out, head high, legs slightly bent at 10°, ready to strike a moment's notice.

"Oh?" Zeta replied. "Why, exactly, was that a bad move? You think that that fancy move you just showed off there is supposed to scare me? Do you know who WE work for? If who I work for found out what you just did, you might as well commit suicide. It will be far less painful than what my boss would do to you."

The Unicorn smiled. "Your boss, Celestia," He said as if the name tasted bad in his mouth, "Thinks I'm dead, defeated." He chuckled. "The clever bitch says that those who use Dark Magic are insane, dangerous. "Drains your life-force from the user." She says." He shook his head. "Dark magic does no such thing. It gives one more abilities than normal magic actually gives. With those abilities, one can and eventually will see and hear things they aren't supposed to see and hear, things that Celestia doesn't want them to know. So she created the lie that users of Dark Magic are insane. We are, actually, very gifted to be able to use and control this immense amount of magic that is usually not open for the public. For example, your boss's student, Twilight Sparkle, is hiding behind the bed behind me. She is unaware of the fact that I am still my former self that herself and her friends fought, just much calmer."

Twilight stood up and dashed for the door…but it was a futile attempt. It was locked.

"Come now, darling. I won't hurt you." The Stallion said without taking his eyes off of Zeta.

Twilight turned around and walked behind Nightmare Moon, who was now transforming back into Luna. "I am not afraid of you, King Sombra." Twilight said. "You tried to kill Princess Candance."

"Now, Twilight. I wasn't going after her; I was going after the Heart, which I was foolishly informed of what it could do by none other than the Alicorn you are standing beside." Sombra replied, rolling his eyes.

Twilight gasped, looking at Luna. "Luna, you had a play in this?!"

Luna looked at Twilight and patted her head twice. Twilight fell to the ground asleep. Sombra and Zeta both looked at Luna with confusion. "What?" Luna replied once she saw their faces. "Being the Alicorn that can raise the moon AND patrols the dreams of colts and fillies across Equestria, I have power and abilities too." She explained, annoyed. "I thought you would be aware of this." She turned her attention to Sombra. "I also thought you would know NOT TO BRING ME INTO THIS!"

"You told me that the Crystal heart would help us defeat your sister!"

"I TOLD YOU THAT THE HEARTS OF THE POPULATION OF THE CRYSTAL KINGDOM WOULD HELP US DEFEAT HER, NOT THE CRYSTAL HEART ITSELF!" Luna exclaimed. "How much clearer do I have to be? I might as well do it myself, considering you royally fucked up beyond imaginable."

"My apologies, at least now she won't be expecting me." Sombra looked behind himself to see that Delta was missing. He looked in front to see Delta kneeling beside Alpha, checking to make sure he is still alive. He then turned his attention to Zeta. "I know and am aware of what Beta has done to you. I am not here to apologize to you for him. I am here to tell you that you are far above your pay here."

"_We don't care who you are, Sombra."_ Gamma snarled. _"We can defeat you here and now." _ She shot off a bolt of magic at Sombra. The bolt hit Sombra, but instead of knocking him back and killing him, he absorbed it, like a plant would absorb water.

"Not in this form you can't. I'm technically still dead, all you are firing at it light and magic. You fire at me, the magic essentially absorbs into mine. You are basically strengthening me in your feeble attempt to kill me." Delta and Alpha were no longer in the room. Delta had teleported himself and Alpha, taking the metallic wing with him, to the room next door, which was empty. Sombra was having a hard time concentrating both on the ghost and on his form. Luna was aware of this and stepped in.

"Zeta, let's go. I have some explaining to do." Luna said as she picked up Twilight and placed her on the bed.

"NO! I HAVE A JOB TO DO AND I WILL SEE IT FINISHED!" Zeta looked down to finish Alpha when saw he was gone. She sighed violently and turned around to face Luna and Sombra. "Ok, which one of you had a hoof in this?" She said, annoyed.

Sombra smiled. "Mine." He said cheerfully and vanished in a flash of light. Zeta looked at Luna and slowly shook her head.

"Celestia will torture me when she finds out about this."

"She won't find out about it. Come with me." Luna said as climbed through the window and took off.

Zeta turned and looked back at Twilight before climbing out of the window and flew off, following Luna.

* * *

Delta and Alpha appeared in the middle room in a flash of green light. Delta looked around to make sure they were safe then turned his attention to Alpha. The bond within him was already at work, healing most of the cuts and scars on his body.

"What are you going to do?" Charlie replied as he forcefully took over.

"_I don't know." _

Charlie walked over to the bed and grabbed the covers and the pillows. Walking back over to Alpha, he slipped the pillow underneath Alpha's head and covered him with the blankets. He then lied on the ground with the other pillow and tried his best to fall asleep. Before he did however, he heard a zipper open and felt the blanket he put on Alpha cover him.

"_Thanks for the help. No pony has ever done what you did for us before." _Beta replied as he opened Alpha's bag and covered Alpha with the blanket he had inside it. _"We will be okay, thanks to you. Get some rest." _

"I can't" Charlie replied, pushing back the covers. "Some pony will eventually find us. And when they do we will be in trouble."

"_No we won't." _Charlie felt the covers covering him again. _"I made sure of that, Get some rest." _

Charlie closed his eyes and nodded off.

* * *

Earlier on, Alpha had paid for the room next to Charlie's. Just in case something went wrong. A…act of caution, if you will.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The Tomb

"Are you ready?" Sombra asked. "There is no turning back from this; no second chances, no giving up after this. It's life or death now."

"I know. He died in pain, in acting out of the pain. And she was rewarded with ending his life, making him look like the bad pony. This should have never have happened." Delta replied, looking among the past kings and queens of Equestria. "She needs to be stopped. She should have saw this coming and acted on it, but instead she let him suffer in pain." He slowly shook his head.

It's been a week since Beta was destroyed by Celestia. Since then, Delta has created his own army from the victims of the bullied, other mutants, and those spared by Beta himself. He was inside a cave, outside of Ponyville in the EverFree plains.

"We know what Celestia has done to Beta. We saw what she did, how she betrayed him and then put all the blame on him. Are you sure you want to do this?" Sombra replied.

"I am."

"This will hurt." Sombra replied as he transformed into a ball of light and flew into Delta's chest. The other past kings and queens did the same, and soon hundreds of balls of light were hurtling themselves at Delta's chest, creating their bond with his soul. If Delta died, they would still be with him when he was reborn or if he bonded with another pony.

"_It is done." _Delta said his eyes now green and his hair black-turning-green.

"Sir, we are ready." Said a pony from outside the cave.

"_How many do we have?" _ Delta replied as he walked out of the cave with the other pony, another mutant.

"Over 500, Sir. Most are older than you but not by a lot. Some are 13 while others are 15 and 20 years old. Most don't know how to use magic or fly, let alone have the courage to take another life." They were now in Ponyville. Ponies on Delta's left and right began to pour out and follow behind Delta, some carrying backpacks and others pulling carts full of boxes. "150 out of the 500 are carrying rations and medical supplies, Sir. With rations and medical supplies, we would last a week at least." He added.

"_Don't call me sir. The name is Delta."_

"This will be a complete slaughter for us, Delta" The mutant replied, shaking his head.

Delta stopped and turned around. He looked among the hundreds of ponies and looked beyond them. Around them, building were still burning, smoke filled the air from Beta's recent rampage. _"I know that most if not all of you think this will be a slaughter. To be honest, it probably will be." _He said aloud, addressing everypony. _"We are not like Beta. We are not as nearly strong as him or as powerful as him. But he was a victim, like every one of you. He was a Mutant, an earth pony who could use magic, like almost every one of you. But he was one pony; just one who decided enough was enough and decided to take matters into his own hoofs. And take a look around you, witness what he accomplished. If only ONE PONY could do all this," _Delta said as he stood up on his hind legs and spread out his front hoofs. _"If only one pony could do this, imagine what an army of over 500 ponies could do."_ He sighed as he landed on his front hoofs, back on all fours now. _"We are all told that we are different from birth. The Cutie Mark we gain when we find what we are meant to do, our special talent, defines and proves that fact. So why are we being treated differently when we are all ponies, just with different talents than most." _

Delta looked behind him and stared at the castle, still aflame from its recent battle. He turned and looked back at his army. Most were just in their teens, but mutants and victims of bullying, they wanted revenge. _"I…cannot guarantee that anyone of you will survive. I know for a fact that I won't. If you want to leave, leave now. Run from this place for it will be hell when it's over." _He turned around and started walking towards the castle, easily a day's walk. _"Let's go." _

"You decided to start without me?" said a voice behind him, landing beside him and joining the Fight was Princess Chrysalis; the changeling.

"_I thought you changed your mind, old friend." _Delta replied chuckling. _"You left in such a hurry after I told you about my plan that I thought you ran off."_

"You really think I would pass up this opportunity?" She said with a grin. "My legs and wings are fine, though the transformation sucked like hell."

Delta frowned. Last year Celestia released an insecticide that was supposed to kill off all insects that would destroy future harvests. However, whoever was working on it was not told that it would be used on edible crops. Unicorns, Alicorns, Pegasi and Earth ponies were affected, turning them into an insect/pony like figure. The sugar used in the Insecticide replaced the sugar molecules in their DNA, creating numerous amounts of mutations. Their wings became thin and transparent. Horns became twisted and curved. Their legs, not used to this type of sugar in the DNA, became riddled with holes. Their skin turned black, and their eyes turned blue. However, because of this specific sugar used, they could shape shift. They could imitate any pony they have seen, including humans if they ever seen one, creating the Changeling.

With the ability to shape shift into pony/human, Crime rates skyrocketed as numerous amounts of Changelings abused this new ability of theirs. As a result of this, Celestia banned all Changelings out of Ponyville, Manehatten and Canterlot.

"My parents would love to be here but they have their own kingdom to run now." Chrysalis replied with a frown.

"_Well, time to gain revenge." _Delta replied as he galloped towards the Canterlot. _"We have a day's travel ahead of us."_

"Yes we do." Chrysalis said as she looked ahead.

The two snickered as the Changelings joined forces with the mutants as they walked towards the castle.

After 12 hours of walking and flying, the two armies camped out for the night before a forest. Fires were placed every few 20 yards away from each other and 40 yards away from the trees. The stars filled the night sky, giving the ponies and changelings something to stare at and calm down before nodding off.

Delta watched his army 50 yards away from them within the forest for a few minutes before turning around and walking away to scout ahead.

"You are aware that this will be a slaughter, are you not?" said a voice behind him.

Delta looked around to see that no pony was near him. He then realized who spoke. _"I am aware of that, Sombra. But there is no other choice."_

"There is always a choice."

"_Not in these times. I tremble to imagine what would happen next if we don't fight against Celestia." _He replied as he hopped over a fallen log. The air smelled of rotten wood and decomposing plants. It was mossy and dark. A glowing orb flew out of his chest, Sombra, and flew in front of him, acting as a light source.

"There is always a choice." Sombra repeated. "Who is the Changeling?" He asked, changing subject.

"_Her name is Princess Chrysalis. An old friend of mine."_

"What happened?"

Delta looked at the trees around him. Cedar and oak trees surrounded him; their branches and leaves dampening noise from outside, leaving him in absolute silence. Once in a while, he could hear the skittering of a squirrel climbing up the trees, an owl hooting in the distance or the sound of the trees swaying ever so slightly in the wind.

He shook his head. _"Celestia released an insecticide that had a horrible side effect to whoever ate the crops that it was sprayed on." _He stopped suddenly and listened as his voice was absorbed in the forest. It gave him an odd but familiar feeling of awareness and isolation at once. _"Enough of me, what about you?"_

"What do you mean?" Sombra asked.

"_You have been with me for as long as I could remember, helping me and showing me things that others would not have noticed. But I do not know who you actually were, why you continue to help me, or what happened to you." _Delta explained as he ducked and weaved through the labyrinth of fallen trees and vines.

"I was a former King of the Crystal Kingdom, a place beyond the mountains. I ruled there. I was loved by my people and by the visitors that came there to meet me. Unlike normal Kings, Queens, Princesses and Princes, I was a social Unicorn." Sombra explained as he glided in front of Delta. "Watch out for that hole in front of the tree."

Delta jumped over the tree and passed the hole hiding on the other side. _"Thanks." _

"Don't mention it. As I was saying, I was more social than other ponies of royalty. Instead of staying inside the castle and sending servants out to buy food, I, myself, would go out into the market and buy food. I would normally overpay the price, giving farmers extra money to help themselves. I would visit the schools, often playing with the foals and fillies during their recces. Although there was a tax that was to be paid ever week, I made sure to lower it during bad harvests and raise it when there was too much money." Sombra continued. "We had an army, a strong army. I taught the Generals myself. I made sure that each guard was doing well in school and knew how to heal themselves and others. When other kingdoms were in peril, I would send parts of my own personal army to aid the kingdoms, filled with Medical supplies and rations. I would even send bits to the kings and queens, helping them rebuild their economy."

He said, glowing brighter than before. Squirrels and Owls began to follow the orb, aware of whom it was. Some squirrels climbed upon Delta's back and rode on his back listening to the Old King talk. They were now in a flat section of the forest.

"I was a close friend to the King and Queen of Canterlot and Ponyville. I would often send messages and gifts to them. During our best harvests, they, along with Canterlot and Ponyville would visit us and stay there for a few weeks. Games, Festivals, Events, Bonfires, and so much more were held when they visited." He chuckled.

"_What happened?"_ Delta asked, ducking under a fallen log.

The orb slowly halted and began to glow faint. The mood swiftly changed as Sombra remembered his fall, sending the owls and squirrels to the trees. "As like everything that is alive, it dies. The king and queen died due to a sever fever, leaving 19 year old Princess Celestia in charge." Sombra halted.

"_What's wrong?" _

"Celestia, back then, was a troubled mare. Although she was given the job to raise and lower the sun, she was born with extremely short temper. Nowadays, she has learned to control it, but back then, she was just learning how to control it. She could be sent into a furious rage if something did not go according to who she exactly wanted it. I went to visit her myself, one day, and had jokingly insulted her."

"_What did you say?" _

"Cakes are fattening, and those who eat cakes are usually annoyed by their weight."

"_You called her fat? Really?" _Delta replied, moving forward. The orb continued to fly in front of him.

"Yeah. Now that I look at what I did, it was really mean. But I did not try to be mean. Her mother was a cake fanatic and was aware of her weight, but would usually send insults in a joking way back at me."

"_Like what?" _

""I think those screams that the fillies and foals yell have sent your brain to bedlam."" He recalled.

"_So she called you insane?" _

"In a joking matter yes. Sadly, her daughter never learned about it."

"_What did she do?" _

"She sent an assassin after me, and in the end, the Assassin succeeded."

"_Oh." _

"Death by poison."

Delta frowned as he looked around. He was nearing the edge of the forest. What he saw made his heart skip a beat and made Sombra fly back into Delta.

About 200 hundred yards away from the forest lay an army of guards. Hundreds of tents and fires lay scattered across the land. His attention changed as he heard a branch crack behind him.

"Oh shit…" said a female voice to his right.

Delta looked around to see Chrysalis beside him. Her black skin camouflaged her in the dark. He saw movement behind himself out of the corner of his eye and realized what he saw; behind him stood his and her army, all hiding within the cover of the forest. Noticing that their leader was gone, they decided to pack up and enter the forest.

"We don't have enough." She admitted, her eyes glued on the tents. "We can't fight this. There isn't a way we can win."

Delta looked at her and back at the tents. His mind raced as he thought of the options. Blindly running straight at them would have the element of surprise but would not last very long. Surrounding them wouldn't work either for if reinforcements came along, they would slaughter the thin line of ponies. He realized he didn't prepare for this at all. He didn't prepare for anything. Delta was outnumbered 5:1. Delta looked at Chrysalis. Her skin had camouflaged her in the darkness, if it wasn't for the moon light, he wouldn't know where…

"_That's it…" _Delta whispered to himself.

"What is?"

"_We use the cover of the dark, lure them into the forest one by one and kill them here. Hide the bodies and lure more." _Delta explained. The other ponies heard and began to spread out, hiding in bushes, behind fallen logs, and trees. Some changelings flew up into the canopy of the trees to get a view of their surroundings while others blending into the darkness. In 20 minutes, the forest looked bare, with only 2 ponies still out in the open.

"What should I do?" Chrysalis asked.

"_Do what you must, stay safe and stay alive; fight to live another day."_ Delta replied.

She took to the skies. "I'll be watching."

Delta took a deep breath and watched the tents. _"I could use some help right now." _

A glowing orb flew out of his chest and floated beside him. "Close your eyes." Sombra's voice announced. Delta closed his eyes. The orb shined brightly for a few seconds before disappearing, catching the eyes of a few guards. Delta retreated into the darkness, watching as 5 guards cautiously enter the forest, their spears sweeping the area for any signs of the bright light that they saw.

Sombra appeared for a split second in the view of guards, running to their left, and then vanishing.

They walked past Delta, without noticing him hiding behind a tree. One guard, a unicorn, was in gold-plated armor while the 4 where in silver-plated.

"_The officer." _He whispered to himself. He looked to his right and saw a changeling hiding behind another tree. Getting his attention by waving his hoof in the air, he pointed towards the office and placed the tip of his hoof in front of his mouth, before slowly making his way towards the guard. The changeling nodded and followed, stalking them silently.

The guards, oblivious to the fact that they were being stalked, that they were prey, continue to walk deeper into the forest. Nearly blind in the dark, the officer lit up his horn, shining light everywhere. Once he did, he wished he hadn't. They were surrounded by ponies and changelings, their eyes seemingly glowing in the dark as they reflected the light. They froze as they realized they had no way out.

Delta, literally standing behind the officer, reached over him, grabbing his mouth and clamping it shut in a deft move with his left hoof. With his right hoof, he grabbed the Officer's horn and, with a sharp and swift yank, torn the horn off.

The officer screamed in agony, muffled by Delta's hoof forcing his mouth shut. The other four guards looked at Delta, their spears aimed at him. Delta turned and watched as Sombra appeared behind them, and killed them, silently, with 4 white bolts of magic.

"Draw them here, kill them silently." Sombra said after hiding the bodies. 5 changelings put on the armor and shifted into the 5 guards they had killed. "You know what to do." He said, nodding to the guards. They grinned and nodded back, grabbing the fallen spears and walking back out into the open.

As the rest of the ponies got back into their original places, Delta and Sombra walked back to the edge of the forest. Sombra stopped as he reached the end. "You are aware of what this means right?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the tents, watching the guards return.

Delta looked up at Sombra.

"What you will start now will be blamed all on Beta. He will be blamed for all the casualties of this war. This war will not exist and Celestia will place it all on Beta."

Delta returned his gaze on the tents. The changelings have perfectly blended in within the others and split up, causing havoc. He watched as smoke rose from the camp as fires burned down the tents, and flashes of light from guards attacking others.

"This battle will not exist."

In the background, thousands of black dots filled the skies. Chrysalis landed beside Delta, grinning. "I did not come without back up." She said as she watched thousands of changelings black out the moon light. "My parents decided they wanted to help as much as they could." The Princess continued. "So they sent 2/3 of their army to come and join the fight."

Delta looked up and watched the appeared and landed in the camp, aiding with their brothers and sisters against the enemy. _"I do not want them killing ANY civilians." _Delta told Chrysalis. _"Only kill those that are armed or pose a significant threat. Do you understand?" _

Chrysalis looked at Delta. "I understand, and they do too."

"Everything that happens here will be blamed on Beta." Sombra said, turning his attention to Delta.

"Everything will be blamed on him."

* * *

Delta opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in the hospital. Alpha's left wing had, subconsciously, covered Charlie and Delta and brought them closer to him. He slowly shifted around and fell back asleep.

"_So, you are the reason why I am blamed for so many deaths." _ Beta said, softly.

"_How do you know that?" _ Delta replied, shocked, looking around. It was dark, he wasn't in the hospital anymore. _"Where am I?" _

"_Calm down Delta. It's Beta. We are in your mind." _He said, walking from the darkness. _"You were shaking and crying in your sleep. I woke up Alpha and he saw what you and Charlie were doing. He placed his wing around you to give you two some comfort and fell back asleep." _

"_Did it work?" _

"_After a while, you and Charlie stopped crying and slept peacefully. I did not know that when the wing touched you, my mind would connect with yours. I was in your dream. I watched what you did."_ Beta's face reddened. _"I appreciate your concern and you willingness to get revenge for my death and for what Celestia has done." _He said as he walked around Delta. His skin was white, his hair black-turning-green and his eyes glowed a light green.

"_You do realize you invaded my mind right? You pretty much mind-raped me!" _

"_I did not mind-rape you. If I wanted to mind-rape you,"_ Beta said, his eyes glowing dark red. _"I would have already done it already, and you would be on the ground, twitching as your mind collapsed." _ He paused. _"And it's considered dream watching. Luna does it all the time, actually. She is the guardian of dreams for colts and fillies." _

Delta stared at Beta. _"To be honest, I thought you were much different." _

"_How so?"_

"_I thought you protected those who were bullied or discriminated. I fought and died for a pony who stood up against all odds, who killed those who hated him and went against the only pony who actually had any power to stop it." _Delta replied.

Beta clenched his jaw, staring at Delta. _"I did kill those who hated me and bully me. I did go against all odds and tried to end the only one who had any power at stopping it but who chose not to." _He unclenched his jaw and closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. _"It's all in the past now. I am here to help Alpha." _

"_Why him?" _

"_I bonded with him when he was being tortured, having his right wing literally burned off with his own welding torch at the Rainbow Factory. He reminded me of myself when I was alive, a week before my "accident."" _

Beta instantly vanished, leaving Delta looking off into the distance.

* * *

Alpha slowly came to his senses and growled in pain. He looked to his left to see his wing covering Charlie and Delta. His right wing, still in its metal brace, extended itself again.

"I have no idea why that happens." He admitted as he shut his eyes and grimaced as pain shot through his body. Slowly getting up, Alpha placed his blanket in his bag and closed it. He placed it beside the door, then slowly walked outside into the hall. Outside of the room, he began to walk around for no reason but to calm his mind. "So, what did you learn?"

"_More about my past and after my death; nothing useful to us." _

"Well," Alpha replied as he looked back towards his room, "I'm going to stay near Charlie for a while."

"_Why?"_

"Kind of like him. I understand the depression he is going through but have no idea why he wanted to stay at the factory."

"_Did not learn about that though. I did learn who Delta is." _

Alpha walked into the lobby and went to the front desk. "Hello, are there any showers here?" He asked with a smile.

The nurse behind the desk looked up, saw Alpha, and nearly screamed in shock and horror. "D…down the h…hall and t..t.t.t..take a right, first door on your left." She stuttered.

He looked behind himself to see what she was looking at but saw nothing. "Thanks," Alpha replied as he walked down the hall.

"_What the hell is her problem?" _ Beta asked when they walked into the showers. On his right was a sink with a mirror. Alpha walked over to the sink, standing on his hind legs and placing his front legs on the sink and looked up.

"That's why she reacted so badly." He said as he saw his appearance. His scar was open and bleeding. He had one black eye, several scratches across his face and 3 missing teeth. He tasted blood and spat. Blood splattered across the white sink. Swearing under his breath, Alpha turned on the faucet and washed the blood away. Making his way towards the showers, he looked around to find a place to store his wing so it wasn't stolen.

"_It's dragon metal; it won't malfunction if it's submerged under water." _

With a sigh, he walked into a cubicle and closed the door, locking it. Turning around, he placed his wing on the wall with the shower head and twisted the knobs. Warm water splashed onto his face and seemed to wash away not only the blood but the stress and pain. "What day is it?"

"_The 5__th__." _

"What month?" He asked, his eyes closed as he was memorized by the warm water cleaning the blood out of his coat.

"_October." _

Alpha froze, his eyes widening, the water still falling onto his face. He stood frozen for a full minute then, shaking his head, shook off the feeling.

"_Why?"_

"It's not important." Alpha replied as he turned off the shower and dried his mane and tail. He cleaned his left wing then, grabbing his brace, unlocked the door and left the cubicle. Outside stood several nurses and doctors, all standing, waiting for him. Alpha stared at the group, slowly placing his brace on. He saw movement behind him and knew it was too late to react. He felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and before everything went black, he heard Charlie scream in panic.

* * *

Alpha stirred as he woke up. He looked up and saw lights moving above him. He was on his back, for some reason. He moved his hoof to push his hair out of his eyes to realize he couldn't move it. He couldn't move at all. There were doctors on his right and left, pushing him. He was on a trolley.

"Hey! Let me go!" He said once he was fully awake, struggling.

"No can do, Alpha. We know what you did and now you will suffer the consequences for them." One of the doctors replied behind the facemask he had.

"This is your last chance. Let me go or all of you will die." Alpha replied, his mane and tail slowly turning red. 2 of the 5 doctors let go and stepped back. The other 3 just kept pushing, ignoring the colt's attempt to scare them off.

"_Fine, your funeral." _Beta replied as he took over. The doctor on his right, the one who replied to him looked at Beta with shock in his eyes.

* * *

Twilight turned the corner after getting up from a bed in the _Mental Patient Ward _room. She slowly shook her head to shake any confusion left and took a right only to see what she thought was a vision of hell. There was blood dripping from the ceiling and the remains of what looked like ponies on the side. Bones stuck out from the walls on the side and limbs on the ground, some still twitching as the muscles died from the lack of oxygen and blood. In the middle of all the death and blood, in the middle of the hallway was a trolley. Standing upon that trolley was Alpha, his mane and tail glowing in streaks of Red and Blue. His eyes were glowing as well. Left eye brown, right eye red. He jumped off the trolley, landing in the blood and walking towards twilight, ignoring his surroundings.

"You…You killed them." Twilight stuttered as she backed away from Alpha/Beta.

"_We did, yes. Where is my wing?" _Beta asked.

"It's…it's…in my office. Just don't hurt me. My crown is in there as well, you can have it too."

"_We don't need nor want your stuff. We just need our wing back. Where is Charlie?"_

"Who?"

"The colt who was sleeping beside us in the room."

"There was no other colt."

Beta sighed loudly. _"Alpha doesn't want to hurt you. That doesn't mean I will. I will ask you one more time, where is Charlie?" _He said.

"What will you do to me if I don't tell you?"

"_I can assure you that you won't survive to tell any pony what I did." _

Twilight's eyes widened in fear.

"_Shall I give you a list of what I intend to do?" _

She kept staring at him.

"_Ripping off the horn, burning off your wings, cutting through your left hind leg with a butter knife…" _He began to list off what he would do. _"Shall I go on?"_

She shook her head.

"_Fine, then tell us were Charlie is." _

"He…he isn't here anymore…"

"_WHERE?" _

"The doctors took him before I could talk to him. They said "You won't see him ever again."" Twilight said as she shook in fear.

"_Thank you." _ Beta said as he turned around walked down the hallway. He took a right and walked into the office and nearly bumped into two guards checking the place over.

Easily destroying both, Alpha walked in between the dead figures, grabbed and slipped on his right and left wing braces. Flexing both wings he walked out of the room and walked to the lobby. "Remember me?" He said as he walked past the nurse at the desk. Walking into his room, he grabbed his bag and vanished in a bright light as Beta teleported himself away.

Appearing on the roof of the Hospital, Alpha and Beta looked for any signs of Charlie and Delta.

"_You know, he could have been returned to the Rainbow Factory in Cloudsdale."_

"It's been two fucking days, Beta. I doubt they rebuilt the damn thing in two fucking days."

"_And if they did?"_

"They didn't." Alpha replied looking in the sky for any sign leading to where they took his friend to. He squinted and saw a carriage being pulled by two guards in the sky. The carriage was made out of wood; light and durable. Shaped as a square, the cell had two barred windows on each side, made of steel. The wheels were made of wood. Pulled by two guards, the carriage would be a hassle to break any pony out of.

Everything froze for Alpha for a nanosecond, and he knew why. He felt his adrenaline surge through his veins, giving his muscles a short burst of pure energy. He felt his heart speed up, allowing his body to consume more oxygen. His adrenaline mixed into his panic and rage giving him an instant rush of speed. His mind raced to absorb what was going on.

Twilight destroyed the door to the roof in an attempt to stop Alpha. She ran out towards him, several armed guards and doctors behind her. She saw him, standing at the edge of the roof and slowly made her way towards him, a floating syringe hiding behind her head. The needle was an inch away from Alpha's flank when he vanished. Twilight pulled her hoof away and looked around. She noticed the white colt disappearing, already a mile away from the hospital. Her eyes widened as she looked where he last was.

"Aw shit." She said as she braced herself, using her wings to cover her face.

There was a bright flash of red and blue as Alpha's sonic color boom detonated, its halo cutting through the hospital like a hot knife cuts through butter. Twilight stepped back just in time to watch as the edge of the ring slice through a guard behind her in two. She looked up and watched as Alpha flew towards the carriage.

As he got closer to the carriage, something seemed odd. It wasn't white as he thought it was. The guards had what looked like a purple variant of a normal guard's armor. The Carriage was purple, not white.

"Ah, Alpha." A guard said when he realized Alpha was flying towards him.

Alpha slowed to a halt, but did not speak.

"Prince- I mean Luna said you would follow us. Come, this way." The guard replied as he turned away from the Castle and towards the EverFree forest.

"Where is Charlie/Delta?" Alpha asked, landing on top of the carriage, riding it.

"_In here."_ Delta replied within the carriage. _"We are fine." _

"Alpha," Charlie spoke. "Chill out, we are okay."

Alpha relaxed slowly. "Where are we going?" He asked the guard.

The carriage jerked down and to the right as they began to pick up speed as the entered the forest. "If I were you, sir, I'd get into the carriage."

"Why?!" Alpha replied, shifting his stance to gain more balance.

The carriage groaned as it was being jerked left and right, weaving through the branches and trees. The Guards grinned at each other and began to fly faster. "Sir, no time to explain, get into the carriage now." Beta instantly teleported themselves into the carriage.

"What the hell was that for?"

"_They are Luna's guards. You can trust them." _ Beta replied.

The guards turned hard left and began to fly straight at a wall. Alpha looked out from the window on the side to see the cave he was living in 50 meters in front of them. "PULL UP! WE ARE GOING TO CRASH!"

"Pfft. He still doesn't know, does he?" The guard asked.

"Apparently not." Replied the other as they flew into the wall. Instead of crashing, they flew _into_ the wall.

"It was a cover…" Alpha whispered.

The Mountain he was living in was hollow. The carriage landed, bumping violently as it met with the ground. When it finally stopped, the guards took of the harness and walked to the back, opening the doors and letting Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta out to look around. The place was huge. Lava holes were scattered, allowing warmth and heat to fill the mountain. It was dug out apparently, some time ago. Staircases littered the sides and balconies stuck out from the rock. Alpha looked to the side to see the two guards that brought them there taking off their armor and walking up one of the staircases to be welcomed by their squad before entering one of the doors.

"_Home sweet home," _Delta responded as he took a fresh breath in. _"It's been a loooong time." _

"Oh, there you two are." Luna said from above. She jumped from the balcony and landed in front of them. "I was beginning to wonder if you two would get here. I want to show you something, Alpha. Delta, you are welcome to look around."

"See you later, Alpha." Charlie said as he looked around and began to wander his way through the labyrinth of tunnels, doors, and staircases.

"What did you want to show me?" Alpha said, following Luna down a large hallway. Stone carvings of heads and words filled the walls. Torches were carved into the side of the wall, giving the orange light that forced the darkness to flee. They stopped at the end of the hallway and stood before a wall.

"What did you want to show me?" Alpha asked, looking around.

Luna nodded at the wall. Alpha looked closer and read the letters dug into the wall. He felt his heart stop, and felt Beta lower his head in shame.

"What now?"

"Now, we plan for the next battle against her.." Luna said, walking out of the hallway, Alpha following her.

As they left, Alpha stopped and looked behind at the wall behind him. He turned around and read what was written on the wall behind him one last time.

_Here lay the remains of Beta._

"What a shitty birthday for me." Alpha said to himself as he left the tomb.

END OF PART I


	22. Chapter 21

Part 2: Chapter 1: Charlie

The room was alive. Lights, hanging from the ceiling, changing color to ever beat. Glow sticks and rings, colors ranging from white to silver, outlined the ponies wearing them. The sound of hoofs hitting the ground, all dancing to the music, all in sync, sounded like thundering claps. The air smelt of sweat and was humid.

"_Another of Vinyl's infamous Raves, figures."_ Beta said, disgusted by the air quality.

"Yeah, well, that's what she likes." Alpha agreed. He frowned as he looked around the room. His hair and eyes were glowing red and blue, giving him excellent cover if one were to find out why they were really there. He made his way through the crowd of ponies and what looked like floating glow sticks. The lights were changing colors to the beat, each change of the light changed, ever so slightly, the position of his target.

"Alright ponies," DJ-PON3 announced. "Gonna take a 10 minute break, get my favorite songs and take a breather. Stay dancing and wubbing!" She announced as she left the stage. The music cooled down to the popular song: TCIF.

"_Let's go."_ Beta said, keeping the target in range. Alpha responded by following the DJ into the back, easily slipping past the bodyguards.

Vinyl took off her glasses and sighed, a water bottle floated towards her and she drank. "Luna Moon, I'm beat." She laughed to herself as she realized the pun she made.

"_It's been a looong time, Vinyl Scratch." _

Vinyl stood straighter, her exhaustion forgotten. Her ears perked up and she listened. "Who said that?" She said, fear creeping into her voice.

"_Come now, Vinyl. Did you really forget about us? It's only been Four years since you talked to us."_

Vinyl looked around for the pony who was talking to her. "What do you want?"

Alpha was hiding on the beams above her, cloaked in the shadows. His hair and eyes were no longer glowing. He was using the walls to make his voice seem everywhere at once.

"_How's Octavia?" _

"She's fine." Vinyl said, nervously. She straightened her neck and pretended to not be frightened_. Some pony was playing with her, _she thought. _It must be some sort of trick or joke_. "How are you?"

"_We are fine."_

"How about you show yourself and we talk face to face.

"_As you wish."_ Alpha jumped from the beam and landed in front of Vinyl. Her eyes went wide as she realized who was talking.

"Why are you here!?" She said, all her strength gone.

"_I'll be honest Vinyl; we are not here to hurt you. Instead we are here to offer you a...new job."_

"I don't want a new job. I love my job right now!" Vinyl protested.

"Just hear us out, Vinyl. Celestia has gone insane."

Vinyl rolled her eyes. "Here you go again, talking shit about Celestia. That she has gone insane, bat-shit crazy, that "She's torturing others." Give me a fucking break; I talked to her personally yesterday. Now if you would excuse me, I have a rave to resume." She walked out of the back stage, vinyl discs floating behind her.

"_That could have gone better." _

"Next time, let me do the talking." Alpha replied as he went back into the rave party. He heard a disc screech and a new song begin to play and recognized it.

"Here is a new mix for you ponies, _Vinylisicous._"

He walked around the party near the walls and found an empty table, free from beer bottles and ponies. He took a seat and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the music. Behind him were a group of ponies, thugs by the looks of them. He didn't care about them until he heard what they were talking about.

"Did you hear about the new rumor going about?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Rumor goes that a Pony named Alpha is going around, assassinating other ponies for his plan to overthrow the princess."  
"Bull-fucking-shit."  
"It's also said that Luna joined him, and all of her guards followed suite."  
"Are you serious!? Why in the world would she turn on her own sister?"  
"Probably for power, most likely."  
"I would love to meet this Alpha and teach him a lesson."

"I'd love to see you try." Alpha said aloud, as he stood up and walked to the group, grinning.

Alpha sighed as he walked out through the back door and into the dark alleyway, his mane dripping in blood. "That was fun."

"_Yes it was."_

He took a deep breath and took off into the night. "I wonder how Charlie and Delta are doing."

It has been 4 years since Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta teamed up with Luna and her guards. Alpha had grown close with Charlie, treating him as the younger brother he has never had. Alpha was now 17 years old.

Alpha's scar had fully healed and was no longer raw or open. He had used his metallic brace so much now that he rarely took it off. He could now easily fly faster that before and was now mastering advanced techniques and creating his own. Alpha, sadly, is plagued by nightmares, and rarely gets any sleep. Passing out has become a frequent trait of Alpha, since it is his only way of actually getting any rest.

Beta had fully remembered his memories and is able to remember anything he had heard or seen. His magic has grown un-imaginably strong. In the magic sparring battles with Sombra and the other kings and queens, Beta recently has been able to overcome three to four continuous enemy beams of magic at the same time. Although not as strong as her, Beta and Alpha, when combining their attacks, have come close to beating Luna in full-out free for all sparring matches.

Charlie has become extremely agile; able to climb steep rocks and trees, not to mention actually dodging multiple magic attacks from Beta and Sombra. Although only 15, Charlie has begun to have horrific flashbacks of Delta's past, to the point in which both Beta and Luna have to enter Delta's mind to calm them down. Beta had created 2 pairs of wings, made of the _Dragon Metal_, for Charlie to use to enter and exit the mountain.

Delta has admitted and apologized to Beta, confirming his beliefs that Delta was the reason why he was blamed for so much death. Although annoyed at first, Beta acknowledged and ignored it, claiming that he was used to killing so many that he believed he did kill so many. Easily regaining is magic ability, Sombra and the other kings and queens have been out more often since where Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta live is essentially a secret base in the EverFree forest.

The mountain where Alpha's cave was located is currently his new home. Created and hollowed out by the Pie's rock ponies, it is a labyrinth of rooms and hallways, made sure to last Centuries. Using the lava underneath the mountain as heat, the mountain internal temperature is around 21 Celsius (70 degrees for you "Ameruica" Humans) all year around. The rock face where alpha's cave is located is actually bare, open. Using a cover-up spell, only a few, Luna included, knew about its existence. Only those who have been inside the Mountain are allowed to enter and leave it. New ponies who want to enter need the help of one who has already been inside. By simply holding one's hoof, a new pony is can simply enter the mountain, in which they do not need help leaving or entering again.

The Cover-up spell, created by Delta when he was alive and walking, was ingenious. It allowed only those inside the mountain to see outward, but everypony outside would only see a rock face. Only to those who have ever entered the mountain, if they were to leave, they would see the gaping hole and the inside of the mountain.

Charlie and Delta were bringing Derpy to the mountain. Able to bribe her with the chance of seeing Luna and muffins, she happily joined and was already entering the mountain when Alpha showed up.

The plan was to get as many ponies to join, creating another new modern army. 4 years later and a lot of hard work, Changing Queen Chrysalis and her changelings had joined, filling half of the mountain up, not to mention Doctor Hooves, Smith, Rainbow Dash, Discord, Maud Pie, Pinkie Pie, John and Scootaloo, and half a couple hundred others.

He entered the mountain; saw Derpy and Beta instantly cloaked himself as Alpha made his way for the showers. Once in the showers, he twisted the knob and let the lava-heated water hit his sweat-drenched face, washing away his stress. He sighed loudly and was, for the next few minutes, in pure bliss. That was until Luna came in and saw the blood washing away.

"I'd take that as failure, am I right?" Luna said aloud, grabbing his attention.

"What?" Alpha asked confused before looking down at the blood. "Oh, that isn't Vinyl's blood, just some thugs who wanted to teach me a lesson." He turned off the shower and walked out of the stall, his hair dripping with pinkish water.

"And did they?"

"What do you think?" Alpha replied, annoyed. "How's Charlie and Delta?"

"Delta is doing fine, as for Charlie…" Luna trailed off, looking away.

"What's wrong?" Alpha responded.

"Charlie keeps having nightmares, only it's not Delta's memories he is accessing." Luna explained.

"What do you mean? He is having flashbacks of his past?"

Luna nodded.

"It happens to me a lot when I pass out. I consider it normal for us."

"Normal?" Luna asked.

"If something happens often for me, I consider it normal."

"You have flashbacks of your past, I know. But what Charlie is accessing is much more different."

"How so?" Alpha asked. "What is he dreaming about?"

"Committing suicide."


	23. Chapter 22

Part 2: Chapter 2: A fiend In Need

Alpha's heart stopped. He stood in front of the Ex-princess, frozen, unable to move.

"Suicide?" He asked once he was able to move. "As in taking his own life? Ending it? Dead?"

Luna nodded, her face full of depression. "Yeah."

"_How long has this been going on?"_

"I don't know, Delta told me about it 2 weeks ago. Ever since then, it's been getting more and more worse." Luna said, looking at Alpha, worried.

"Where is he now?" Alpha asked, his heart rate rising. He shifted his stance.

Luna didn't reply, she just kept staring at Alpha.

"Luna, where is Charlie?" Alpha repeated.

"I don't know."

Alpha stood in his place for a full two heart beats before turning on the spot and galloping out of the shower room, running for Charlie's room. The door was closed, but that never stopped him. He placed his metallic appendage in front of his shoulder and ran into the stone wall, forcing it open. Charlie's room was empty. Alpha began to slightly tremble visually. He disappeared in a flash of light as Beta teleported himself to the Cafeteria, then to the Training rooms. He teleported into each room; the lounge, pool, metal work, rock work, mining shafts, rock climbing wall, looking for Charlie. Once after checking all the rooms, Beta teleported himself to the outside peak of the mountain and looked around.

Alpha took a breather and looked around, knowing that although he was fond of his new wings, Charlie did not have the stamina to go very far. The sun was setting down on the horizon giving a cherry red glow to the already purple, star-filled sky, and snow was falling slowly to the ground, in its no-two-snowflakes-are-the-same way. Not a single chirp from a bird or a branch cracking under the weight of a bear was heard. Total peace.

He always liked the snow, although cold, it made him feel peaceful. Its color, although only white, gave him a perspective on his own life._ Important, but always seen last, always in the background,_ he thought as he took off into the sunset and looked around for any clue to where his friend went. He saw Celestia bring up the moon and, instead of hiding from her, flew close and watched her as she raised the moon. He gave a huff of recognition and respect, before flying to Cloudsdale, looking for Charlie.

"_What was that for?" _

"What do you mean?"

"_That huff you did just now, was it out of annoyance or anger?"_

"Neither, I was just watching her.

"_Celestia? Why?" _

"Just curious."

"_About what are you curious of her?"_

Alpha shook his head. He didn't know why he was curious. He was curious of his one only enemy who could actually end this all if she wanted to. "Why did she not end it all where it started? She could have just killed us when she wanted to. Why wait?"

"_Some things are better learnt than told." _

Alpha nodded then took off for Cloudsdale.

"_You know where he is, don't you?" _

"Yeah, it's where I would go if I was him."

Beta groaned as the two headed for the factory.

* * *

Luna was standing in front of Beta's tomb. She was worried sick about Charlie, hoping that Delta, Alpha, and Beta would be able to stop him in time. She let out a sigh.

"Worried about Charlie?" said a female voice behind her.

Luna recognized the voice and nodded. "Yeah, I am."

Chrysalis nodded and stayed her ground, watching Luna. "I wouldn't worry about him too much."

Luna turned around, offended. "Why should I not worry about him? He is at that bullshit hell hole, ready AND willing to commit suicide."

"Yeah, but Delta wouldn't let him."

"How so?"

Chrysalis sighed as she remembered the Battle of the Victims. "I was Delta's best friend. Although he couldn't really use magic, he was astounding with his way of words."

"What are you talking about?"

"I…was depressed before." She said, her head down low. "Changelings used to be normal, non-mutant ponies. I was an Alicorn, brought up secretly by Celestia herself when she began to become lonely. When I became a changeling she kicked me out, banishing me from the castle." She looked up to see Luna shocked. "I met Delta a short time before Celestia adopted me. He was a mutant, but unlike others, he was proud of it. He didn't care if he would get hurt by others; he would stand up for other mutants. One mutant that he defended from some bullies was Beta himself."

"Wait, what!?" Luna interrupted. "Delta saved Beta?"

Chrysalis nodded. "Beta was eight when he learned about his "gift". As you know, back then if you were different, you were horrible discriminated. Beta was being beat up by several bullies, all much older than him, when Delta stepped in and broke it up, scaring off the bullies by conjuring Sombra to show himself. After I was kicked out for the mutation that was occurring to me, I was very depressed." Chrysalis continued, changing subject." But Delta was there for me. He kept me out of the dark days I had, and treated me as if I never changed."

Luna stared at Chrysalis. Her green eyes glowed with what? Envy? "Why are you telling me this?"

"Delta," Chrysalis said. "will do everything in his power to keep Charlie alive. The same can be said of Alpha, but much, much more than Delta could ever wish."

"I can see how Alpha would help him. He treats him like a younger brother of his. But more than Delta can ever wish?! I don't think that's right."

"That's not what I meant. He sees him more than a friend/younger brother. But, I would think they would appreciate any help right now."

* * *

Alpha was near the factory when the memories of pain began to seep into his mind. He felt his anger rise as he remembered the years of pain and loneliness he endured. But that wasn't all that began to seep into his mind. The thought of Charlie committing suicide created some sort of panic that had combined with his anger and pain, creating one hell of a burst of energy. He froze in mid-air, just hovering 200 meters before the factory.

"_Alpha, is everything alright?"_ Beta asked, worried.

Alpha didn't reply. He just stared at the factory. He landed on a nearby cloud and began to, instinctively, retract and extend his metallic brace.

"_Alpha-" _Beta began to speak when Alpha bolted towards the west wall of the Factory, leaving a Sonic boom behind him. He headed for the wall, head first. It exploded as Beta fired a bolt of magic at it. Time froze as Alpha absorbed what he saw. On his left were four Royal Guards, their helmets casted away on the ground, playing poker on a table. On his right were another two guards, leaning against the wall, chatting. Straight ahead was the corridor. Alpha tilted to his left, and landed, destroying the table with the excess momentum he had and spun 270 degrees counterclockwise, his right wing extended, decapitating the guards in a deft swipe. Beta killed the two guards that were left with a bolt of glowing white metal, easily impaling them. Without missing a beat, Alpha spun around another 70 degrees counterclockwise and galloped down the corridor. He took numerous lefts and rights as he navigated through the maze of dark hallways. Eventually he found his way to the cells, but when he found it, he almost wished he hadn't. Alpha skidded to a halt and froze. Standing in front of Alpha stood a whole platoon of Royal Guards, spears at the ready.

Beta rose within him, shifting his weight to his hind legs, extending both metallic wings and was about to go berserk when Alpha heard grown stallions screaming above them. He looked up at the roof with confusion. He felt a hoof hit the back of his neck, not hard but light. He looked to his right to see a dark grey pegasi, his armor a deep shade of purple, streaks of a bright vibrant purple glowing, outlining the metal.

"Sir, we got this." He said with a deep voice, tilting his head to the side, as if pointing at something behind him. His eyes were a dark pink, his hair black.

Alpha looked behind him to see nothing, just the corridor, and the lights still flickering. He turned around and looked guard. "Who is "we"?" He asked, confused. "Look again, behind you." Replied the guard. This time, Alpha turned around fully to see a whole platoon of guards, their armor glowing in purple, slowly uncloaked, and revealed themselves.

One pony broke through the ceiling and landed right next to him. Alpha looked to his right and felt his jaw drop.

Her armor, another variant of _The Dragon Metal_, was covered in dried blood. She had her helmet on, and her teeth, razor-sharp, although normally would be white as snow, were covered in streaks of red blood. With skin color that matched pitch-blackness, the moon-shaped cutie mark, which seemed to give off its own moon light, and the light-blue, oval shaped eyes with that mane and tail that seemed to peer into a void full of stars, Nightmare Moon stood beside Alpha, battle-ready and eager to fight.

"What?" She asked, looking at the jaw-opened Alpha.

"N…nothing." He stuttered. He has seen Nightmare moon before when she tried to kill him, but never up close. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought you needed help." She turned her attention to the guards in front of her. "Seems like I was right. Go find your friend and save him. We'll deal with them."

With saying that, she ran towards the wall of guards. Several guards threw spears at her. Nightmare Moon grinned and easily dodged them, and jumped into the crowd. She spun; her wings spread open, decapitating several guards in the process. Once she had her own space, she lunged out to the nearest Guard, a Unicorn, and grabbed his horn. With a strong and fast tug, she ripped off the horn. With a complicated twists and arcs in the air, she tossed it up and caught it with her hoof, the end point of the horn facing behind her. Standing on her hind legs, using a horn as a makeshift dagger, both wings spread, Nightmare Moon was Death's best friend.

The Guards behind Alpha began to rush towards the broken wall of disorganized Royal guards, eager to get their fair share of kills. Alpha had no problem with that and let them pass him as he made his way towards the machine room. He heard the sound of cell doors being destroyed and smiled. The Cell inmates have decided to join Nightmare moon and fight the guards as well. He heard one particular guard screech in agony as if somepony attacked him with a cattle prod.

"_Gotta love ."_ Beta replied in glee.

"Yes you do." Alpha agreed as he made his way into the machine room. He froze to a halt when he saw Charlie sitting in front of the machine, watching a filly being horribly and brutally destroyed and killed. He then stood up and began to step into the machine.

The last thing Alpha heard before his mind went into overdrive was Beta telling him about something. But it was too late. He bolted forward Charlie when Beta instantly took over, forcing Alpha to stop.

"Beta, NO!"

"_Listen to me Alpha. It's not him!"_

Alpha stared at Charlie, who oddly, had stopped moving toward the machine and began to transform. His tan skin began to turn white. He grew in size and grew wings as well. He had a horn. He changed gender.

"_Shit…" _

This Alicorn was white. Having a crown upon her head, her cutie mark the shape of a sun that was created by the Human Greek artists appeared on her flank. She turned around and looked at Alpha.

Alpha slowly began to step away from the Alicorn, his eyes wide and his breathing slowed.

Her eyes were pink. Her horn long and tall, her mane and tail, a vibrant light variant of what seemed to be a rainbow sparkled and flew around, as if un-affected by gravity.

"It has been a very long time, Beta. It's an honor to meet you Alpha." Princess Celestia said with a grin. "Let's talk."


	24. Chapter 23

Part 2: Chapter 3: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

"It's not right, Delta. None of this is right! I am not right."

The torches were giving off their normal orange flickering light, lighting up his room. Charlie was under his bed, talking to Delta. The one place that was truly dark, which allowed to rest without covering his eyes from the light or snuffing out the flame and relighting it in the morning.

"_No pony is supposed to be "right", Charlie. Hell, I know that more than you. I was and still am a mutant, one that could what others never dreamed of doing." _

"I am not supposed to be like this!"

"_Supposed to be like what?" _

"I am gay. Being gay is wrong here. I push everypony I knew away, I have a shitty personality. I'm an asshole. I suck at life, never stood up for my friends when they were being bullied before I met you, but they would stand up for me."

"I don't know about that," A voice said from the door.

Charlie poked his head out from under the bed to see Alpha standing there. His scar was open and raw again, bleeding profoundly. His metallic wing was broken, the metallic feathers spread out in different directions. Alpha had many scratches along his body. His eyes were half open, and he was missing a few teeth. Blood was dripping from his body to the ground, creating a small red puddle underneath him. His left wing was broken, his right front leg and his left hind leg were terrifyingly disfigured. There was a trail of blood drops behind him.

"You are quite the opposite, to be honest." Alpha said with a tooth-missing smile.

* * *

Alpha felt his mind race. He felt Beta rise within in him faster than ever before. His adrenaline kicked in, his panic, rage, anger and hate mixed together, creating one hell of a substitute of energy.

Celestia grinned with half-opened eyes and shot a white glowing bolt at Alpha. Instead of dodging it, Beta took over and blocked it by raising the metallic wing and using as a shield, the bolt bouncing off the wing like a laser bouncing off a mirror.

"It has been a long time, Beta." Celestia said casually.

"_Yes, it has."_ Beta replied, lowering the wing slowly before teleporting to the top of the machine. He looked down on Celestia. She had splashes of Rainbow Liquid all over her body, especially her face. She turned around and looked up at him with a teeth-baring smile, her teeth glowing in a vibrant rainbow state. _"Taste good?" _

"It tastes like blood. But it has an energetic feeling to it, like BlueBull has." She said with a nod. As she was nodding, her horn began to glow white and it spat out a cone of rainbow-colored magic. Beta jumped off the machine just in time to narrowly miss the spell. He spun in the air, giving Alpha back control and watched as the machine was hit.

The top of the machine was easily ripped off like if it was made of paper and somepony ripped the top off. The pipes within easily broke, creating a fountain of the rainbow-liquid, spurting it up into the air. Alpha landed on the ground behind Celestia, watching the Rainbow rain onto the floor when he got a face full of Celestia's Hind kick. He wheeled around, teeth flying out of his mouth. He raised his right front hoof up to his mouth and felt the holes where his teeth were missing. He turned his head and looked at Celestia.

She grinned in reply. "Taste Good?"

His mane and tail began to flicker; every other color streak was red, blood red. His eyes glowed, one red, one blue. His scar was open and bleeding again. He spun around, his metallic wing raised. Celestia grinned and waited until he got close enough before extending her right hind leg and kicking him…

But Beta expected it and teleported in front of Celestia. She turned her head back forward and watched as Alpha's right metallic wing impacted her chest, easily breaking three ribs. She instinctively stood up on her hind legs and yelled in shock and pain. Alpha ran underneath her and extended his right wing again, and exited near her left hind leg, breaking it when it came into contact with his wing.

Celestia landed back onto her front legs and kicked out her left leg, both straitening it out and breaking Alpha's left hind leg in the process. Alpha skidded to a stop, turned around and grinned. Celestia looked at him in horror and anger. She watched as Alpha's leg seemed to heal itself on its own, hearing the crack as the bone connected and resealed itself.

"Alpha…" Celestia began to plead.

Beta shot a bolt, nearly missing her and hit an explosive pipe behind her. She, again reared up, but this time, Alpha and Beta decided not to give her a chance to recover. Alpha galloped straight at her stomach and before he hit her, Beta shot off an explosive spell at her, making her fly backwards and up, crashing through the wall and into the cafeteria. She got up and watched her sister kill.

* * *

Nightmare Moon ducked under several spears, leaned forward and bit one of her attacker's neck, easily biting through the vein and, with a thrust with her makeshift dagger, a horn she had earlier ripped off of a unicorn's head, shoved it into the other side of the guard's. With a quick thrust, she ripped the head off its neck and watched the guard's body fall to the ground and twitch, the Guard's head dangling from her mouth. She looked up and saw Celestia. Nightmare Moon froze, watching Celestia watch her. She grinned with the Guard's neck, the guard making gurgling sounds as he made futile attempts to breath. She slowly pulled out the horn from his head, killing the guard and stood back on her hind legs, her wings spread, and extended her free hoof before folding her wrist back and forth, gesturing her to come here.

Celestia began to walk towards her dark sister when Nightmare Moon heard a bloodcurdling cry and watched as Alpha bolted through the hole in the cafeteria floor and impacted Celestia through the walls next to her. Nightmare Moon grinned and turned her attention to the guards, whose numbers were beginning to dwindle down.

* * *

Celestia, being pushed by Alpha, was hitting and destroying each wall before Alpha ran out of momentum and both rolled and tumbled on the ground, Celestia's body crushing through each wall before ending up in the same room Alpha was punished in, the two unconscious.

Alpha came to first. He looked around for Celestia. Once finding her and realizing that she was unconscious, he took a breather before slowly getting up.

"_You okay?" _

"Yeah, I'm fine, just had the wind knocked out of me."

"_Your right front leg is broken, the same for your left wing." _Beta said with a disappointed sigh.

Alpha looked over and confirmed Beta's notes. "Great…" He said with a grimace as his bones slowly began to heal.

"_If I were you, I would wait until later."_

Alpha nodded in agreement. Healing, although fast, takes a lot of magic and energy. He opened his eyes after nodding and froze. He realized where he was. Everything was in the same place since he last saw it: The blood splatters on the tables that were stuck on the wall, the cuffs on the middle table, open and broken from when Beta bonded to him. Even his welding torch was still on the ground, cold and non-moving. Alpha felt the pain in his right wing start to ache, as if it was remembering what had happened here.

Celestia rolled over to her left side and stared at Alpha. "It all started here?"

"Technically, it started with you." Alpha paused as he heard a prisoner laugh hysterically, then glanced at Celestia before moving and looking around the room.

"What do you mean?"

"Before I was "punished", I was told that _they_ had specific orders from the princess to keep me alive." Alpha replied, glaring at Celestia who was still on her side. "I wonder who that would be." He walked over to Celestia's side, and looked down at her wing, sprawled across the floor. "You know," He said slowly, looking at her wing. "A broken wing doesn't hurt as much compared to losing one with a welding torch." He glanced at her, watching as horror and fear filled her face.

He thought it over out loud. "Hmm, one broken leg compared to two broken legs, one wing broken, and teeth missing. Not quite that fair…"

Celestia gulped.

His eyes flashed red and he grinned. Beta took over and was beginning to bring down his metallic wing when Celestia attacked him with a beam of magic. He covered his face with his wing and begun to deflect the magic when she got up on her legs and began to overpower Beta, the wing glowing red.

Beta groaned in annoyance and had begun dueling Celestia, his red beam against her rainbow-colored beam. Alpha had now slowly lowered his wing and saw that the feathers were disfigured. Angered with this fact, he kept his place, not moving, glaring at his enemy. The magic between the two beams was intense. Bolts of magic began to peel off from the main beams and hit the walls of the room, destroying it, ripping apart the metal and wall.

* * *

Nightmare Moon was nearly done taking care of the guards. One pony, a prisoner no doubt, had laughed hysterically when he grabbed a nearby sledgehammer and slammed it against a guard's side, destroying his ribs. She looked up after killing another guard with her makeshift dagger when she looked up and, through what seemed to be a torture room, saw Alpha dueling Celestia. Her mouth dropped as she watched Alpha hold his own against her sister. She grinned then spoke. "ALL RIGHT, ANY PONY THAT WANTS TO LIVE AND GET REVENGE AGAIN FOLLOW US, WE WILL BRING YOU TO OUR HOME." Her horn glowed purple as she shot a bolt at the ceiling, destroying it. "QUICKLY NOW, COME ON LET'S MOVE!"

* * *

Alpha wasn't aware of what was happening behind him, or didn't really care. For the first time in 3-4 years, both Alpha and Beta were fighting for their lives. Two beams, both being fired from two powerful ponies, were colliding with each other. Beta peeled off and teleported behind Celestia, attacking her flank. Alpha raised his disfigured brace and swiped it across her flank, scarring her cutie mark. Celestia growled and kicked back.

However, Alpha and Beta were ready. Alpha ducked under the incoming left hind leg. He grabbed it with his left hoof, and, while holding the leg, spun under it and pushed it upwards, forming a with her leg. The Princess shook her head and decided that she should stop fooling around. With surprising speed, she wheeled around, her wings spread and attacked Alpha. He ducked under the wing, ran through her legs and was on the opposite side of the room, with the door behind her back.

"You have nowhere to go but through me." Celestia said with a grin, blood dripping from her flank.

Alpha was about to reply when he felt something touch his right hoof. He looked down to see his old welding torch had rolled onto the ground and stopped near him. "You know…" He began to reply, picking up the torch. "I was a mechanic when I was here for five years." He watched the torch spark to life, it's fire a navy blue. "I used to see this torch as a magic wand. I could fix anything I found," He slowly looked up at Celestia, who was now standing up, glaring at him. "And destroy anything that came into my path." He stared at Celestia before Galloping towards her, the welding torch floating behind him. She braced for impact but, instead of impacting her face, Alpha slid beneath her, the torch burning her stomach, then got to his hooves and blasted through the door before stopping and turning around, looking at Celestia.

She had tears streaming down her eyes as she realized what he had done and that the Rainbow factory was all but empty save for the dead guards.

"It appears that I was right." Alpha said, nodding before teleporting off.

* * *

He appeared in the Mountain and looked around. Guards and Prisoners filled the space, most with broken bones or other injures. Derpy and the others had begun to address the freed of the plan and most, if not all, had agreed to stay. Changelings, led by Chrysalis, were up and about, most setting up a perimeter and watching for more guards if they were followed.

Alpha's adrenaline had cooled down and he began to move towards Charlie's room, limping horribly. Luna, now transformed back into herself, saw Alpha and quickly made her way to him.

"Shit." She said, looking him over. "You have the worst injuries out of any pony here. Where are you going?"

Alpha groaned in pain as he limped over to his friend's room. "I know where Charlie is."

"What? Where!?"

"Under his bed." He said as he walked to the door.

"How would you know that?"

"Because it would be where I would be if I were him." He said as he opened the door.

* * *

"It's not right, Delta. None of this is right! I am not right."

The torches were giving off their normal orange flickering light, lighting up his room. Charlie was under his bed, talking to Delta. The one place that was truly dark, which allowed to rest without covering his eyes from the light or snuffing out the flame and relighting it in the morning.

"_No pony is supposed to be "right", Charlie. Hell, I know that more than you. I was and still am a mutant, one that could what others never dreamed of doing." _

"I am not supposed to be like this!"

"_Supposed to be like what?" _

"I am gay. Being gay is wrong here. I push everypony I knew away, I have a shitty personality. I'm an asshole. I suck at life, never stood up for my friends when they were being bullied before I met you, but they would stand up for me."

"I don't know about that," A voice said from the door.

Charlie poked his head out from under the bed to see Alpha standing there. His scar was open and raw again, bleeding profoundly. His metallic wing was broken, the metallic feathers spread out in different directions. Alpha had many scratches along his body. His eyes were half open, and he was missing a few teeth. Blood was dripping from his body to the ground, creating a small red puddle underneath him. His left wing was broken, his right front leg and his left hind leg were terrifyingly disfigured. There was a trail of blood drops behind him.

"You are quite the opposite, to be honest." Alpha said with a tooth-missing smile before collapsing onto the ground, unconscious.


	25. Chapter 24

Part 2: Chapter 4: "I hate dogs."

Charlie watched as his best friend, all beat up and injured, tell him that he was wrong before falling to the ground, unconscious. Charlie cautiously walked over to the bleeding, injured colt and nudged him, in an attempt to wake him up. Time seemed to speed up for Charlie and Delta after that. He stood there, standing over Alpha as doctors and prisoners rushed towards Alpha, some in shock, some in fear, most in worry and disbelief. He watched as they surrounded the fallen blood-stained colt and took him to the health room. Charlie followed close, not leaving Alpha's side. He shoved ponies and changelings out of his way that would deny him being beside Alpha otherwise.

They placed Alpha on a stretcher, and pushed him through a pair of olive green rock doors. Charlie was about to follow inside the room when a Doctor turned around, placed his hoof on Charlie's shoulder and shook his head. "Only essential personnel are allowed in right now. You will have to wait like every-pony else."

"_How about you let me do the healing? I know his anatomy, his weak and strong parts, his will to live and I have his trust."_ Beta said from within the room.

The doctor who told Charlie that he could not enter turned around, giving Charlie the chance to shove him away and enter the room. He froze as he saw Alpha standing up, his eyes, mane and tail red. The doctors backed up on the wall

"_Beta." _ Delta whispered  
"I noticed." Charlie replied.

Beta turned around and saw Charlie. He smiled then frowned. _"Come here."_

Charlie cautiously walked to the stretcher on which Beta was standing on.

"_Alpha and I have recently found out that those with two souls living in one body develop a sort of bond. As the two get to know each other, trust and help each other, the bond grows." _

"_Why are you telling us this?" _Delta asked.

"_Because one day, you will be able to do this."_ He closed his eyes and began to grind his teeth. Beta extended his left wing.

Charlie, Delta and the other doctors watched as the wing began to move, the bone straightened, reconnected, and resealed itself. Charlie physically flinched as he heard each bone pop back into place, each crack refilled, each bone straightened and back into its original place. They all watched as his legs did repaired and healed itself. Beta opened his eyes and looked at Charlie. His eyes were half open.

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Tired, healing oneself with magic like that takes a lot of energy." _Beta said before smiling then falling onto the stretcher, unconscious again.

Charlie smiled and was about to walk away when Alpha began to take deep breaths. Charlie watched as his friend slowed his breathing to a breath each 5 seconds,

"_He probably just fell asleep." _  
"Yeah. I wanna check something."

Charlie made his way around the stretcher as the doctors began to walk out of the room, giving Alpha some time in peace. He was about to turn the corner when he heard a CLANK! Charlie looked down, raising his hoof as he noticed Alpha's Metallic wing on the ground, his hoof right above it. He held his breath and his eyes followed the outline of the wing, looking for it connecting to Alpha's wing. Charlie let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn't connected.

"_Looks like it fell off when Beta fell down."  
_"It looks all disfigured."  
_"Considering the state he is in and that his wing is all disfigured like that, he was probably fighting somepony very powerful in magic." _

Charlie stopped to think who was powerful enough to do this amount of damage to Alpha's wing.  
_"I can give you three guesses to who Alpha fought. Here's a hint: Beta and I fought her, during different periods of time, of course." _

Charlie's jaw dropped as he realized who it was.  
"Celestia?!"

* * *

The forest, usually dark in the day, was alive with sound and movement as the nocturnal creatures within came to life. Three ponies walked through the EverFree forest, with one Alicorn guiding them through it.

"Come, this way." Luna said as she escorted Fluttershy, AppleJack, and Rarity through the EverFree Forest, shadows casting onto the ground from the bright light of the Moon. They stepped past the trees and bushes, went through vines and thorns, and flew across ravines and canyons. They were now in another forest when Rarity decided to break the silence.

"Pardon me, Princess." Rarity began.

"Don't call me Princess, my name is Luna." Luna interrupted.

"I apologize, Luna." Rarity corrected herself.

Luna gave a groan and turned around, facing the three ponies. "Listen, I am not with my sister any longer. I am no longer part of her and therefore no longer considered royal. Talk to me as if I were a common pony."

"Ok…then," Rarity continued as Luna turned around and started walking. "Where the hell are you taking us? And why in the middle of night?"

"To the Castle of the Two sisters."

"Why?"

Luna was about to reply when she cut herself off. She bit her lip as she kept walking to the castle, thinking of how to explain. "Have you four ever heard of the Legend of the Rainbow Factory?"

"The what?" AJ asked, confused.

"The Legend of The Rainbow Factory." Luna replied as she looked behind her at AJ. "Most Pegasi like your friend, Rainbow Dash, has heard of the Legend."

"Is it scary?" Fluttershy asked softly.

"Quite so."

"Well, go on, let's hear it." AJ said, wanting to hear the legend.

The group arrived at the Castle. Before entering giant oak wooden doors, Luna stopped and turned around, looking at the three.

"The Legend of the Rainbow Factory came to be about 500 years ago. When Pegasi are old enough, they take a Flying test. If they pass, they get to continue their schooling and go out into the world." Luna explained to the ponies. "This said test started 500 years ago. However, when a pegasi would fail this test, they would disappear."

"Where would they go?" AJ pondered aloud.

"The Legend of the Factory was supposedly to be myth. Those who fail the test go to a facility called The Rainbow Factory, in which they are slowly tortured, killed, and then drained of their blood. They use the blood to create Rainbows, like those seen in Rainbow Falls."

"Wait, What!?" The three exclaimed.

"My mother would tell me it when I was a filly. She said it was just an old mare's tail used to scare colts and fillies into getting good grades." Fluttershy explained.

"Why are we here then?!" Rarity asked.

The doors to the castle opened. Light shined out of the castle, casting shadows behind them. Three figures behind Luna began to walk forward. The shadows stood beside Luna. They didn't look like ponies. They almost looked like dogs. Two stood on Luna's left while the other one stood on her right. The one on her right looked big chested. The two on her left were skinny.

"Because," The shadow on Luna's right spoke with a deep voice. "Ms. Rarity, This legend is true." The big chested one held out what seemed to be a unlit torch and, with a strike of a match on the ground, the shadow lit the torch and held it out, the light revealing themselves.

"By the way," Rover said with a friendly smile. "It's nice to see you again."

Rarity, AppleJack, and Fluttershy both looked at Luna at the same time, their jaw extended. "What do they mean?" Rarity asked, snapping herself out of shock.

Luna leaned forward. "All that my sister has told you is a lie. The Legend of the Rainbow Factory is true, and I have personally seen it and been there. Recently, in fact."

Rarity groaned. "I hate dogs."


	26. Chapter 25

Part 2: Chapter 5:

The door opened with a creak then was slammed shut as he kicked it with his back hoof. The brown skinned mutant stood on the welcome mat, soaked from the rain. His backpack slid off of his back and felt to the ground with a wet thud, and slowly decompressed as the air within dispersed.

"Sweetie, is that you? You are quite late." A mare's voice said from within the cottage.

Beta sighed and dried the water off his body with a new spell he taught himself last night from one of the book he "borrowed" from Celestia's library. He tasted blood in his mouth, and felt the missing molar in the back of his mouth._ "I hate school." _He muttered. He looked at his backpack then back up. _"Yeah, it's me." _

…

Alpha braced himself for the nightmare. He stood in complete blackness. He knew he wasn't there physically, but he was there _mentally._ Whatever he thought of, he would see; a picture of Beta; his home, the factory, his cell, anything and any pony. He both loathed and loved the place. It was just himself, alone, without Beta. He lied on the ground, and thought about his life.

The thought of his parents filled his mind, and in turn, the black room he was in filled with light and sounds. He heard birds chirping, the wind blowing across the grass, the trees ever so slightly swaying in the wind. Bright lights of green and blue filled his vision. He stood up and saw the grass beneath his hooves, its smooth texture brushing over his skin. He felt the wind across his face, the warm air cooling the sweat on his forehead, his mane dancing about in the wind. The white colt took a breath in and smelled the wet, fresh dirt beneath the grass. He could smell the scent of fresh air, cool and free of sweat or humidity, dry.

He heard a mare's voice call his name. "_Alpha? Sweetie, where are you?" _

He felt cheery and wanted. His breath became short. It was hard to breath for a second. He looked over himself. _What could have made this feeling I feel? _He wondered. He was short of breath but at the same time, relaxed. A rare smile pierced his mouth and he turned around, looking for the source of the voice and felt his heart skip a beat.

In front of him stood his parents, both frantically looking for him. His mother had a whitish-tan skin, brown eyes, mane and tail. She was round faced and had a set of pale red lips that curled upwards, forming a smile. Her mane covered the base of her ears, those of which were pointing upwards like every other pony's ears Alpha has seen, and ended at the tip of her shoulders.

Alpha grinned. He always thought her hair was too long.

His father agreed. "Lina," He said as he looked at her with a thick up-northern accent. "You really need to cut your hair."

"Why Jonny," said Alpha's mother with a Hispanic accent. "What's wrong?" She asked as she glanced at him.

His mane was brownish-black and short, not even going down to the back of his neck. He had rectangular-shaped glasses, hazel eyes, and white skin. Johnny, although shaved, still had the outlines of the beard on his cheeks. He had a scar on his left eyelid from what he claims was a "Rubber-Band" incident, and a slight limp which came from his front right leg from a sport accident that occurred when he was a teenage colt.

The smile on his face left as he remembered his friend, Beta.

The room changed. It was now black like before but a pony was standing in front of Alpha. His skin was brown, his mane, tail and eyes blood-red. He looked at Alpha, his lips in the form of an upside-down grin. He blinked then began to walk around Alpha.

He liked Beta. A friend that he has always known, always been with since he could remember; helping him when he was hurt, guiding him when he was lost.

As long as Alpha could remember, Beta was usually secretive, but very protective. The room became alive, the wall that Alpha was facing lit up, like a screen at a Cinema. Alpha sat down and watched, Beta still walking around him. He watched the screen as he saw Beta come out and attack others that were hurting him. Alpha watched in awe, fear, and a bit of respect as he watched how Beta was always there for him; either by healing his broken bones, helping him create his metallic wing, destroying and escaping the factory, protecting him when faced with death, and easing him when he had nightmares.

The screen went dark and disappeared, leaving Alpha with Beta. Alpha watched Beta when Beta spoke.

"_Will you do the same as he has done for you? Will you help him when he is hurt and lost? When he is injured, forgotten, ignored, attacked, isolated, hated, and destroyed?"_ His voice, however, wasn't Beta's but was a voice like no other. It filled the room with a sense of maturity and a sense of immaturity. It felt like it was a teacher but sounded like it was a pupil. It echoed as if it was in a long tunnel but was heard as if it was spoken directly into his ears.. Alpha felt wanted and hated at the same time.

Alpha stood up and shifted his stance as the voice spoke through Beta.

"_He has been there for you when you were in the factory. He has saved you from death numerous times. He has fought Celestia, Nightmare Moon, and Gamma for you. Will you do the same for him? Will you be willing to give your life for him, as he has done countless times for you?" _

Alpha stood there, watching Beta. He looked down and away.

"_Shame. After all he has done for you, you won't-"_

The Voice was interrupted as Alpha hugged Beta, his two hooves wrapped around his neck. "You are my friend." He said as he stopped hugging and stood back on his four legs. "The one and only friend I have had for as long as I could remember. I would do anything to help him, as he would do anything to help me."

"_Good, Now get some rest. You won't be having any-more nightmares." _The pony replied before turning around and walking away.

Alpha did as he was instructed and lied down on the ground. But before he fell asleep, he had to know one last thing. "Who are you? I know you aren't Beta, His voice is different from yours. How are you here?"

The voice sighed, stopped moving, turned around and looked down at Alpha.

"_I was a pony from a long time before Celestia and Luna ever set hoof on this place. I was here before Discord was here. I was one of the leaders of the clans that untied with the others to form Equestria. As such, I have a mental link to all types of ponies, pegasi, unicorn, Alicorn, changelings, mutant, and normal alike."_ The voice said as Beta's body became the voice's. His skin slowly turned from brown to pitch black. His mane and tail were dark blue and his eyes where glowing white. He seemed to have no pupil in his eyes. All that Alpha could see were two glowing-white ovals. _"I am Nova."_ Nova replied before walking away and disappearing.

Alpha nodded, but instead of resting, he stood back up and looked around. He slowly sighed as he braced himself.

"Just one last memory to take care of..."

He saw the light of his own welding torch, and watched as his younger self was punished.

…

"He fought against Celestia?!" Charlie cried out, in shock.  
_"Keep your voice down. Yes, Alpha and Beta fought Celestia."  
_"Who won?" his voice lowered.  
_"Neither."  
_"How do you know all this? You were with me, talking to me when he left."

Delta sighed. _"I fought Celestia before, you know that."  
_"Yeah so?"  
_"Over time, one begins to notice the remains of a battle, especially if that battle was against a very powerful being."  
"_Like what?"  
_"His metallic wing is damaged, for example. It takes a lot of energy, power, and force to do such damage to a metal like that."_  
"So?"  
_"So…The only enemy of Alpha's that is capable of doing such is Celestia. Luna and Chrysalis is with us."_  
"What about Zeta?"  
_"What about her?"_  
"Could she do this?"  
_"Gamma, my sister is the magical one, Zeta is just the physical form. And no, Gamma does not have enough power to do such damage. Not yet at least."_  
"Not yet? What do you mean?"  
_"Gamma was my sister. As such, she too was a mutant but unlike Beta, I, and the rest of the mutants, she could hide hers. She trained her ability at night, and was a horrible pony at day. She would not only bully mutants, but would attack them with her own ability when they were alone." _  
"How does that answer my question?"

Charlie felt Delta withdraw, as if he was depressed.

"What's wrong?"  
_"Just like you are, I too am filled with depression." _  
"How so?"  
_"You are depressed because you hate yourself. You parent's adopted you when you were young and you felt like that meant you were worth nothing." _  
"What did you go through?"  
_"I had to watch my own sister be tortured, mutilated, and killed before my eyes. I had to hear her screams, her pleads for mercy, her agonizing yells as Beta tortured her in revenge." _  
"So?"  
_"I helped Beta by leading her to her death. I agreed and helped Beta kill my sister. And I have been hating myself for it ever since." _He took a deep breath. _"Let me take over, I wanna show you something." _

Charlie closed his eyes and found himself in one of Delta's memories. Specifically, the day before he bonded with Charlie.


	27. Chapter 26

Part 2: Chapter 6: "You have been out for 48 hours."

The white colt groaned as he woke up. Although he was well rested, which was a first in 5/6 years, he was still tired, which wasn't a first and it won't be the last. His eyes slowly opened, the dry, crusted tears cracking as the eyes opened. He wiped away the dried tears with a hoof and slowly pushed himself up off the metallic table. He looked around to get his bearings and noticed that his wing was on the ground. Without getting off the table, the colt with the missing right wing reached down and grabbed his metallic limb then slipped it on the destroyed limb that used to be a right wing years ago. He took a deep breath as he felt the magnetic metallic bones in his limb expand inside the wing, connecting him to the wing.

"You know, you really shouldn't be moving, considering what happened to you." Said a voice.

Alpha looked up to see Charlie leaning on the swing-open door, the light from the hallway spilling into the dark room. He could see Delta's blue glowing eye. Although the light behind Charlie created a shadow effect in which most couldn't see his face, Alpha's eyes, enhanced by Beta presence and by his time in the RF, could just make out a rare-smile on Charlie's face.

"Yeah, I know." Alpha replied as he struggled to get off the table. He pushed himself off the table and fell to the dried blood-covered floor with a thud. He growled as he stood up and slowly made his way to Charlie. "Never mind me, how are you doing?" He stooped low and picked up his fallen welding torch.

Charlie took a step back, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. "I'm fine, why?"

Alpha tilted his head to the side at a 10 degree angle and his mouth turned into an emotionless frown.  
He looked up and down at Charlie, checking him over.

"Alpha…" Charlie replied unsteadily. "What's wrong?"

Alpha stopped and looked at Charlie. "I know something is wrong. What is it?"

"What do you mean?" Charlie replied with a nervous chuckle.

Alpha lifted his right front hoof and placed it on Charlie's shoulder. "I know something's up."

Charlie sighed. "Alright, you caught me." He admitted. "I've been depressed for a while."

"May I ask why?"

"Do you really need to ask that? Are you blind?" Charlie asked, annoyed. "I have a shitty personality, my original parents didn't want me so they adopted me, I ran away from my adopted parents' home, and I am the reason you went to the factory and fought Celestia!" He shrugged off Alpha's hoof. "And I'm gay."

Alpha cocked his head back. "Gay?"

"Yes, gay."

"Sorry for asking this, but what is gay?"

Charlie sighed violently.

"_Gay means being attracted to the same gender."_ Beta answered.

"How is that bad?" Alpha asked.

"What do ya mean "How"?" Charlie replied, shocked that Alpha didn't know.

"Why is it bad being gay?"

"Because it's against the social laws of Equestria; one cannot love the same gender, only opposite genders."

Alpha chuckled. "You are aware that I was in the factory for 5 years, right?"

Charlie nodded.

"That means that I have no clue on what happens in society. Are you also aware that I break laws?"

Charlie continued to nod.

"Are you also aware that I am gay as well?"

Charlie froze. "What?! No you aren't."

"I can remember not being attracted to the mares in the facility that the other colts were talking about. Never really found them interesting. Character wise I did, but sexually? Never."

"Yeah so?"

"Four years ago, I broke into the Rainbow Factory to save Scootaloo as she was taken there. While the colts and mares broke free and escaped, I decided to check the cells one last time to see if any pony was left behind." Alpha explained. "At the last of the cells was a cell that had its door reattached. Curious, Beta and I decided to open it. Do you know what we found inside?"

Charlie's eyes widened as he realized what Alpha was explaining.

"I found a colt inside. He had tan-colored skin, brown-turning-cherry-red mane and tail. I thought he was just another colt when I saw his eye change color for a split second." Alpha smiled as he leaned close to Charlie.

"Alpha….What are you doing?" Charlie said nervously.

Alpha smiled then winked at him before walking past him. "Nuthing." He said in a joking tone.

"Hey wait up!"

"What time is it?" Alpha asked over his shoulder.

"3 o'clock at night." Charlie responded as he rubbed his eyes.

"How long have I been out?"

Charlie was silent as he counted the number of hours.

"Charlie?"

"About 48 hours, two days."

Alpha was silent for a full heartbeat. "Well, I needed it." He turned around the corner.

Charlie turned the corner and froze, staring at Alpha. "What are you doing?"

Alpha was flying upside-down. "Just screwing around."

"Why?"

"I never really got the chance to joke around." He said as he continued to flip forward.

"Oh." Charlie replied, somewhat embarrassed at the fact of how Alpha was acting. "Why are you acting so strange?"

Alpha was now upside-down on the ceiling and walking forward, his wings flapping as they tried to keep him glued to the ceiling. "What do you mean?" He looked up at Charlie, who was in turn looking up at him.

"Are you looking up or down?" Charlie said, distracted at his friend walking on the ceiling.

"I'm currently looking up."

"If you were looking up, you would be looking at the ceiling."

Alpha smiled. "I am confusing you. Although you see me as upside-down, I am right side-up in my view."

"You are seriously not acting like yourself right now."

Alpha frowned as he righted himself to the floor and landed, facing Charlie. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, you are usually more serious."

Alpha's wings extended automatically. He became very self-conscious for a few seconds, his eyes wide, and his frown gone.

"Why does that happen?" Charlie asked, confused.

Alpha's face reddened. "No…Reason…" Alpha said slowly. His wings lowered. He turned around and headed for the main hall.

"Where are you going?"

"Come on, I wanna show you something."

"What?"

Alpha stopped and grinned. "The Heart of Equestria."


	28. Character Bible

YAY! 60,000 words!

CHARACTER BIBLE (From the Prologue to Part 2 Chapter 5)

Alpha:

Alpha is the first of the four main Characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. As a colt at age 5, Alpha's parents abandoned him at a park in Ponyville. At age 8, Alpha was caught stealing food and sent to the Rainbow Factory. Instead of being killed, Alpha was given a job. He was to repair any metal parts of the machine that were broken. 3 years into the job, Alpha, age 11, saved a mare that was playing around with his welding torch by tackling her, which in turn badly scarred his face. A week later, Alpha was punished for saving the mare. All punishments go by death, but for Alpha, he was tortured, having his wing burnt off with his own welding torch. He passed out before the wing came off, but once it did, he met Beta. After another 2 years at the factory, Beta helped Alpha create his own wing and escape the factory. Alpha would, in the future, return to the factory to destroy and rescue other prisoners but would continue to search for the reason why he was tortured instead of being put to death for saving a mare.

Mane/Tail Color (starting on the right): Midnight Blue, Galaxy Blue, Dark Blue, Navy Blue, Blue  
Eye Color: Brown  
Skin color: White  
Pony-Type: Pegasi

Beta:

Beta is the second of the four main characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. 900 years before the Twilight Sparkle was born, 100 years after Nightmare moon, Beta was alive. Born an Earth pony- mutant, Beta never realized his ability until the age of eight while watching Celestia raise the moon. Those who don't know Beta personally think of him as a Legend gone wrong. A dark mutant, worse than Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Chrysalis, and Tirek combined. Celestia uses Beta as a scapegoat, blaming anything dark on his name. Beta is historically known as the mutant who, 900 years ago, went insane and decimated almost all of the population on Equestria before going after Celestia herself and battling against her for three days as she used the Elements of Harmony against him. He even created his own Metallic armor, _The Dragon Metal_, a type of metal created by combining Steel with Dark Magic, which gave him the ability to create his own wings.  
Historians consider Beta as the most powerful being known to Ponies. Probably more powerful than Him.  
Yeah, that type of dark. 

BEFORE DEATH (900 YEARS AGO)  
Mane/Tail Color (starting on the right): Brownish-Red, Dark Maroon, Dark Blood Red, Blood-Red, Red, Bright Red.  
Eye Color: Blood Red  
Skin Color: Brown  
Pony-Type: Mutant/Earth Pony

AFTER DEATH (MODERN)

Mane Color: Same  
Eye Color: Blood Red (Right eye only)  
Skin Color: White  
Pony-Type: UNKNOWN

Charlie:

Charlie is the third of the four main characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. There isn't a lot on Charlie's history. What is known is that he has depression and met Delta a while back. Considered one of Alpha's closest friends, the closest being Beta. Charlie met Alpha in Chapter 16 while Alpha was looking in the cells one last time before leaving the factory for any colts.

Mane/Tail Color: Brown turning Cherry Red  
Eye Color: Dark Brown  
Skin Color: Tan  
Pony-type: Pegasi

Delta:

Delta is the fourth and last of the 4 main characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. Delta is the reason why everypony thinks that Beta killed nearly all ponies in his time. _The Battle of Victims_ was the real reason of why so many died. Enraged with Celestia's choice of not helping Beta when he was being bullied, battling him, killing him, and scapegoating him, blaming every bad thing on him, Delta gathered the remaining mutants and survivors of Beta's Rampage and, with the help of Princess Chrysalis and the changelings, attacked Celestia. _The Battle of Victims,_ although very real, was banned from all history books by Celestia herself, blaming it all on Beta, dubbing him a Legend gone wrong. Delta was a mutant himself with an ability unlike any other. Although he could use magic, like Beta, he was actually a conduit, a way for the deceased Kings and Queens of Equestria before Celestia's time to come in the physical world from the Spiritual world and converse with the living.

BEFORE DEATH:

Mane/Tail Color: Black Turning Green  
Eye Color: Neon Green  
Skin Color: Unknown

AFTER DEATH (MODERN):

Mane/Tail: Black Turning Blue  
Eye Color: Galaxy Blue  
Skin Color: Unknown

Gamma:

Gamma is the sister of the Mutant Delta. Originally a mutant, Gamma would bully other mutants to fit in with society while hiding that fact that she was a mutant herself. Her life ended during Beta's Rampage for revenge against those who had hurt him.

Mane/Tail Color: Unknown  
Eye Color: Green  
Pony-Type: Earth Pony

Zeta:

There isn't a lot of information on Zeta's background. What is known is that she recruited Rainbow Dash to work at the factory and used to be at the factory herself. She is known to be Luna's Personal Assassin as she was sent to kill Alpha in Chapter 9. After Luna left, Celestia took over for Luna, making Zeta her personal Assassin. She is a master in all fighting arts and will not stop until her target is dead, unless something unexpected happens.

Mane/Tail Color: Unknown  
Eye Color: Neon Purple.  
Pony-Type: Pegasi

Luna/Nightmare Moon:

You already know about her. She is the reason why Alpha was not killed initially when arriving at the Factory. Luna abandoned her royal postion and left her sister, Celestia, after learning why Celestia punished Alpha.

Chrysalis:

Chrysalis is currently the Queen of Changelings. Unlike the original show, Chrysalis wasn't always a Changeling as she was an Alicorn. 900 Years ago, Celestia released an insecticide for crops that were being destroyed by insects, which ruined lots of harvest. However, the insecticide was still in development and was not ready for edible consumption, those who ate it were horribly transformed into the changelings We know today. She is a close friend of Delta's, for while she was transforming, Delta never left her, and kept being her only friend as no other pony would like a mutant-insect-freak that she looked like.

Sombra:

Sombra was the famous king of the Crystal Kingdom. Unlike the lies that Celestia has told about him, Sombra never wanted to enslave the kingdom. He was killed by an assassin sent by Celestia after accidently insulting her in a joking fashion.  
_"Cakes are fattening, and those who eat cakes are usually annoyed by their weight."__1_

He was loved by his ponies and was mourned after. Although he did try to recapture the kingdom after his death, he was stopped by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who were sent by Celestia and blinded by her lies.

Nova:

There isn't a lot known of Nova. All we (Historians) know of Nova was that he was one of the leaders of the clans that united with the others to form modern day Equestria. As such, He has a mental link to all types of ponies, changelings, and mutants.

Mane/Tail Color: Unknown  
Eye Color: Glowing White, No pupils  
Skin Color: Black  
Pony-Type: Unknown.

Celestia:

Celestia is the current Alicorn ruler of Equestria. As an Alicorn, and a Queen, Celestia has the power and the ability, let alone the responsibility of rising and lowering the sun. After banishing Nightmare Moon to the Moon, Celestia gained the responsibility and ability to rise and lower the moon. Celestia battled Beta himself, destroying him with the Elements of Harmony, and defeated Delta. She is known to defeat Discord, Element of Disharmony, Tirek, and countless others, including Sombra. As Queen, most listen to what she says, and believes her, giving her the ability to bend history to what she wants. As such, Beta is now considered a Bully, not a victim, and Sombra, a dark unicorn, not a friendly king. Celestia is _THE _reason to why Alpha was punished with torture, not death, claiming that she wanted to do it because she could.

A powerful Queen Alicorn, Grandmaster in both light and dark magic, Celestia is a protector to those who serve her, and a deadly target to those who defy her.

But we already know that she isn't immortal. She can be killed.


	29. Chapter 27

Part 2: Chapter 7: Father and Daughter

Luna landed in the center of the empty room and looked up at the stream of magic flying up from the large crack in the center. She saw something move behind her and turned around to find a shadow. Her eyes followed to the shadow to its origin to find two ponies, specifically pegasi, lying side by side, facing the stream of magic. Luna smiled as she slowly made her way to the ponies, making sure not to disturb the two colts.

The white colt on the right had his metallic wing wrapped around the younger, sun-burnt colt on the left. His mane and tail were multiple shades of dark blue, while the other's was brown-turning-cherry red. The youngest colt couldn't be older than 15 and had a bluish blanket over him.

Luna now stood in front of the sleeping colts, and grinned. Apart from the skin and mane/tail color, one could mistake them as brothers.

"So cute…" Luna whispered to herself.

"_I will agree with you there." _Replied the oldest colt, raising his head in response. He slowly opened his eyes to reveal one brown eye and one red eye.

"You're awake." She said, surprised.

"_I am."_ He said with a smile. _"How are you?" _

"I'm fine." Luna said. Her grin was not from laughter, but from relief. "So, what happened?"

"_Nothing 'special', if that's what you are asking. Alpha knew Carlie and Delta were having trouble sleeping so we brought them here. After a brief conversation about depression, Charlie slowly lowered himself down onto the ground and fell asleep. Alpha decided to accompany him, just in case he had another nightmare. I decided to stay awake if Celestia decided to come back here and heal herself." _

Luna's grin slowly subsided.

"_What's wrong?" _

She sighed, then shook her head, as if pushing a thought aside. "Just thinking."

"_About?" _Beta asked, curious.

Luna noticed her shadows was covering the two sleeping colts, and walked to Beta's side before sitting down next to him. Her back was straight as an arrow, not hunched over like he would sit. Her wings folded neatly at her side. "Are you aware of your reputation?"

Beta rubbed his eyes and shook his head. _"I never really cared about it."_

"After you died, Celestia scapegoated you, she blamed everything on you. All the deaths, all the destruction and chaos, and even made you the reason why I did what I did."

"_That's not surprising." _

"You became a…" Luna pondered about the word. "Legend."

Beta chuckled in amusement. _"The Legend of Beta." _

"You know about it?"

"_I heard other ponies talking about it when I was with Alpha in the factory while gathering the materials to create his wing. At first I ignored it, but then my curiosity grew." _

"And?"

"_It's typical propaganda bullshit. 'Blame the colt, everything goes back to normal.'" _Beta took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Luna asked, worried. Technically, she was currently talking to THE rouge mutant that tried to kill her sister long ago. According to legend, Beta was supposedly a bully that went insane on power and his sick sense of entertainment and humor got the best of him. And because of such, he went on a rampage, killing and torturing all for entertainment and boredom. But because she now knew the truth, she grew to like Beta, even respect him.

Beta chucked nervously, or was it sarcastically? _"What do you think? I'm a 917 year old colt, stuck in a 17 year old colt's body, whose goal is to gain revenge on my former enemy, who is still alive. And I have begun to realize that neither I nor Alpha have begun to imagine to grasp the idea of why she did so. I, personally, know that Celestia tortured Alpha just for entertainment values and because she could, but I have neither the heart (as if I had one) nor the courage to tell him that. But because I haven't told him so, I feel like he is aiming not just for his goal, but mine as well."_

"I see…"

"_Do you? When I was alive, I was sent to multiple phycologists and therapists in an attempt to rid my anger. Every time I went there, I was told the exact same thing: 'I understand' or 'I was there' or 'I know how you feel'. Each sentence, each attempt to make me feel wanted or liked did the opposite, it fed the flames; it gave the fire fresh oxygen. How could they? I was a mutant, I was different. I was told from the first day in school that 'You are Special, different.' And because they said that I was special, I was treated differently, treated horribly. I had a disorder, even before I learned I was a mutant. I had no friends. The legend based off me says that I had friends, I never did, never had. I was alone. Always alone. I was used to being teased, being abused and bullied, beat up and put down-"_ Beta stopped as he remembered his dark days.

"_I was hated for what I was because of that bullshit excuse of a Princess your sister is. The lies she said, the hatred she created, the horror she made, the dis-harmony she brought. You and her fought Discord together. Are you even aware of what Discord was actually doing?" _

Luna stood up, amazed and shocked.

"_How about Tirek? The EverFree Forest?"_ Beta took over Alpha's body, standing up. His metallic wing slowly left Charlie, as he walked towards Luna, who was now backing up, in what seemed like fear, or the unwillingness to hear the truth. _"Your sister says she brought harmony back to this world, when she has done the complete opposite. Change is a part of life, I know, I fully understand and agree with it. But when Change crosses the line, what do you do? You blame it on those that you do not fully understand. You take control of those who are not aware of what they are doing wrong, and you tell them the rules which totally go against those you grew up with."_

_Do not lie._

_Do not kill. _

_Do not steal. _

_Do not hate anypony._

_Accept all for who they are. _

_Perfection is not part of our life, do not try and grasp it for you will not come close to it._

"_The laws and rules that Discord himself gave our ancestors before you and Celestia decided to take over. Instead you took over control and changed the rules."_

_Do not lie if your life does not depend on it._

_Do not kill, unless in self-defense._

_Do not steal, unless you have been robbed._

_Do not hate anypony, unless your friends give reason to hate them._

_Accept all for what they look like, not who they are._

_Perfection is the goal of life, reach for it like you reached for the stars when you were young._

Luna looked around as she realized the truth. She turned her attention to Beta, who had begun to sway his head left and right, as a snake does when it is hypnotized by a snake charmer.

"_Yes, I did kill. Was it for fun? I was in the amidst of anger, OF RAGE! Did I laugh?"_ Beta paused. _"I did. I laughed a lot. I laughed because I realized the truth. Because I found out it wasn't my fault that I was like this."_ Beta started to grin._ "That I was born a mutant, and I could be proud of what I could do, not be ashamed. Your stupid sister didn't agree. She sent guard after guard after me. With each guard came another death, another eight year old colt, hysterically laughing in the bloody remains of the guards that tried to stop him." _Beta stopped grinning and went back to Charlie's side, placing his metallic wing across him. _"There's a space between the truth and lie, where sanity isn't what it seems, and reality is nightmare of a dream.__1__" _He lowered his head, as if to sleep then raised it and looked back at Luna.

"_I apologize. Just it's just that when I think of Celestia or talk about her, all I remember is her flaws."_

"I was aware that you did not like her, but not to this extent."

Beta was silent for a couple of minutes as he watched the stream of fire and magic in the center of the room rain upwards, splashing on the ceiling before being absorbed by the mountain. He looked down at Charlie, who had snuggled closer to him, practically using his metallic wing as a blanket. Beta smiled in amusement before looking back at Luna.

"_I am not used to this. For a while after I bonded with Alpha, I wasn't used to having a friend, let alone being near anyone. Much to Alpha's annoyance, I was quiet for the first three to four months. Only talking when necessary, but I would take over instantly without him letting me if I thought he would be in danger. Mostly, it would be a false alarm, but when it wouldn't, I'd not let the attacker any respite, not pain, just an instant death." _He had a troubled look on his face, as if he was trying to solve a complicated algebraic problem. His eyebrows squished together ever so slightly, just creating a small frozen ripple in between. _"Just a question, if I may." _He said as he turned back at Charlie.

"Yes?" Luna said, no longer cautious, but listening intently, as if to hear a cryptic message.

"_What will happen when we die?" _

Luna was taken by surprise by this question. "You died before, you should know the answer."

Beta chuckled and smiled. _"Not like that. What will happen to you if Alpha and I are killed? Both of us noticed that the only reason that most ponies stay at the mountain is because of us. Not because we escaped, but because we returned to help others escape." _

Luna fell silent for a moment as she turned and looked up at the magic raining upwards towards ceiling. "We are all here because of you. Most in the mountain are alive because of what you and Alpha have done and what you two will do in the future." She looked directly at Beta, who was looking at her too. "You and Alpha are Special. Not in the educational sense but the…reality sense."

Beta tilted his head in confusion. _"How so?" _

"I am Luna, otherwise known as Nightmare Moon. I travel into the dreams of all ponies; mutants, changelings and normal alike. And in almost every dream I have seen, most are about what the dreamer wants; a toy train, a party with friends, good grades at school, graduation, marriage, finding true love, living the life of excitement. With every dream I enter, I have to push away the nightmare from entering. Sometimes I let it enter, giving the dreamer a lesson they need to learn or experience. But Alpha's and your dreams are different. Instead of wanting a toy train or getting good grades, both of you dream of the same thing." She paused.

"_Of what do we dream?" _

"You dream of nightmares, but unlike how others cower from it, you and Alpha stand against it, determined to see it though. You two face your problems, determined to find the solution. You may have thought that you were a freak, that you were screwing up the society when you were young and alive." She laughed quietly at Beta's view.

"_What's so funny?" _

"Go to sleep. I'll personally show you."

Beta nodded then lowered his head before slowly nodding off. Luna smiled as she watched her young friend nod off, then, once he was asleep, took a deep breath before introducing him to Nova.

"_Anything I should know before I talk to him, sweetie?" _ Nova said, appearing beside Luna, semi-transparent.

Luna smiled. "Go easy on him, Father. He has had a rough life."

"_I know." _ Nova looked down at Alpha and Charlie, both snuggled together, deep asleep. _"I will admit they do look cute like that. Two mutants, each with another mutant within, the chance that this happened is astronomical. What is more impressing is that the two who have not discovered their ability are in love with each other." _Nova nodded in respect and acceptance. _"Nebula would be impressed." _Nova said as he slowly disappeared, entering Beta's mind.

1\. Line is from the song "Her Darker Side" By Aviators.


	30. Chapter 28

Part 2: Chapter 8: Fire

Alpha stirred before waking up and looked around. He was in Charlie's room. He felt something nudge him on his left, and when he looked down, he smiled. Beside him slept Charlie, who had moved around a bit when Alpha woke up. 

"_Nova must've teleported us here when I went back to sleep." _Beta whispered.

"You're awake." Alpha replied groggily. "Sleep well?"

"_I didn't sleep as I was pretty much talking to Nova the whole night." _

"About what?"

"_Mostly on life before Celestia. Quite interesting. Found out that Nova is Celestia's and Luna's Father and that Nova was pro-mutant." _

"Meaning?" Alpha replied, still half asleep.

"_Meaning he was for mutants, not against them." _

Alpha yawned and stretched before pushing himself off of the bed and walked to the door. He opened the door so he could barely get through before closing it behind him, trying to not wake up Charlie. Alpha walked to his bedroom, took off his brace and stretched his limb. Although he loved the replacement, his original wing needed to be free of it once in a while. Almost wingless, Alpha made his way to his nightstand and picked up his old welding torch before leaving the room for the Metal-Work room.

"_What are you going to do?" _

"I want to modify my old torch so I can use it to repair my wing and/or use it as an improvised weapon, seeing how much it damaged Celestia."

"_Right." _Beta replied as the two made their way into the Metal-Work room. _"The torch cannot get to the right temperature to modify the Dragon Metal, let alone bend it. It took us three years, and the hottest furnace in the factory to create the metal." _

"I know. I was wondering if your magic could help with that." Alpha entered the room and found an empty work bench. He placed the torch on the table then walked to the side to grab a Heat-mask, gloves for hoofs and his left wing, and some tools.

"_How so?" _

Alpha walked back to his welding torch, dragging a chair behind him before sitting on the chair and reaching for his tool.

"Currently, this welding torch uses a type of propane."

"_Propane will not burn hot enough, neither will hydrogen nor any other gas/liquid." _

"I understand that. Which is why I want to know if there is a spell that creates fire."

"_There is, and I use it to light the torches in the morning here." _

"What is it called?"

"_I have no idea." _

Alpha blinked in amazement and confusion. "How do you use the spell if you don't know the name of it."

"_Old-magic, like the type I use is much more powerful than magic that is normally used now-days. Because it is so powerful, to learn an Old-Magic spell, you do not say a specific phrase. Instead you think of the effect of the spell. For example if I see an unlit torch, instead of saying a phrase to light it, I just imagine the torch aflame. If it's Offense Magic, I think of the color of the bolt/beam. If its teleportation, I concentrate on where I want to go, imagining the place in my mind as if I was already there." _

"That easy?!" Alpha said in disbelief.

"_It's harder than it sounds." _

"I bet. Could you create a Bolt of fire that can be used like a gas?"

"_What are you trying to do?" _

"I am trying to use a bolt of fire as a substitute of propane or hydrogen. If I can do it right, I should be able to control how hot the flame is."

"_It is possible, but it's incredibly hard." _

Alpha reached for the torch and begun to take it apart. The welding torch was a brace that was worn on either the right or left front hoof. Straps on the brace secured it to the leg as the nozzle ended at the tip of end of the hoof. The hose for the nozzle ended halfway up the brace and connected with a rectangular tank that would be filled with propane or hydrogen.

Alpha, with the help of Beta, carefully unscrewed the tank that held the fuel and put it aside. Alpha watched as a bolt of fire appeared at the end of the hose and slowly entered the hose.

"_We need something to seal the end from flaring out both sides and harming your chest." _

Alpha looked around then looked down at the fuel tank. He grabbed it then grabbed a hammer and nail before moving to another bench. He placed the fuel tank down then placed a nail on the tank's opening.

"_What are you doing?" _

Alpha reached for the hammer, grabbed it, then raised it above his head.

"Fire in the hole!" He screamed as he brought down the hammer onto the nail, which punctured the propane fuel tank. The tank violently hissed as the gasses within escaped through the nail-sized hole. Eventually the hissing stopped and Alpha recovered from under the table and looked at the empty fuel tank.

"_You are such a scaredy-cat."_

"I'm sorry, but which one of us is still alive?" Alpha snapped back.

Beta fell silent.

He picked up the empty tank and walked back to his bench and placed it at the end of the hose. "Can you fill the tank up with the bolt of flame?"

Beta didn't respond.

"Beta?"

No response, everything was silent.

"Beta, what's wrong?"

"_I'm dead." _

Alpha slowly nodded.

Beta sighed. _"Sorry, it's just…it's hard to explain."_

Alpha spun around in his chair. "How so?"

"_It's just that… I know I am dead, that I am not living anymore. I have known that for a very long time and yet just realizing that I am dead….it's like a wave of depression." _

Alpha stopped spinning around in his chair and nodded. "Well, technically you are still alive through me."

"_How so?"_

"You talk, watch, learn, breath, sleep, eat, laugh, play, work, fight, teach, help, and save others to name just a few."

"_Yes, but that's because I bonded with you. You are doing that, I just control." _

"Yes, but you control. And when you control, it's YOU who do things, my body just does what it is told. You are as much as alive as any other pony right now."

Beta nodded as he tried to accept the fact that although he was dead, he was still alive.

"No offense, can we get back to work?"

"_Sure," _Beta said, still slightly depressed but none the less relieved after being proved wrong for once. The tank started to glow slightly red as the flame within heated up the metal. Alpha quickly sealed the tank onto the hose and watched as the nozzle came alive with fire.

"So far so good…" He twisted the gas valve clockwise and watched as both the tank and the nozzle slowly returned to its black color. With another twist, this time counter-clockwise, the valve opened and the nozzle came back to life. "Right…" Alpha turned the welding torch off before carefully strapping on the torch to his right front leg, the glove still on in case of burns. It fit perfectly.

"_Take off the glove, Magic Fire cools down quite fast." _

Hesitantly but trusting Beta, Alpha did as he was instructed and removed the torch and the glove then strapping the torch on again without the glove. As Beta said, the metal was cold. Alpha carefully turned on the torch before shutting it off quickly as the metal began to burn.

"_Sorry 'bout that, didn't realize it would heat up so quickly." _

Alpha rubbed his leg as the pain subsided, leaving only a red spot where the burn was. "Is there a way to gain resistance to fire?"

"_Yeah, but it's extremely rare and hard to gain." _

"How do you get it?"

"_You don't get it, you gain it. Resistance to fire is a skill, not some potion you can buy and drink. It is gained by being taught by the only living creature known to be fire resistant and create fire on its own without the need of magic or another source of flame." _

"Which would be…?"

"_A dragon." _

"Where are the nearest dragons? Wait, do dragons actually exist?!"

"They exist, yes." Luna said as she walked into the room. "They are very aggressive, which is why learning Fire Resistance is nearly impossible. The closest near here is still in his teenage years, about 15 years old. His name is Spike, and he is a VERY close friend of Princess-"

"_Twilight Sparkle, one of the 5 elements of Harmony, specifically Magic. Defeated Tirek after you, your sister, and Princess Candance transferred your magic into her, also defeated Discord and countless others. I am aware of Sparkle." _Beta interrupted. _"Last time we saw her was in the hospital the night Alpha met Charlie. She claimed to be on another assignment from Celestia, studying the pony brain."_ Beta frowned. _"I always hated therapists and phycologists." _

"Where does he live?" Alpha asked.

"He currently lives in Twilight's castle." Luna replied.

"_Then that's where we are headed." _


	31. Chapter 29

Part 2: Chapter 9: Every Utopia is a Dystopia

The sky was black as the night began. Tonight was one of those nights where the moon was not present, which plunged everything into darkness. Alpha didn't mind, instead, he loved the darkness. It gave him cover, he could see clearly in the dark while others were blind in it. He practically walked past the guards that were guarding Twilight's castle and entered through the front door, closing it behind him.

His ears picked up numerous sounds as his sight began to slightly fail due to the lack of light and him not knowing where to go. He could hear the sounds of the guard's hearts beating in the room to his left and right. He could hear the laughter of a guard, the sound of cards being laid onto a wooden poker table, the clink of a pool ball hitting another ball before sinking and rattling in the corner pocket. He heard the sound of beer bottles clinking and rolling on the smooth-rock floor. His right eye was glowing red, his left blue.

He walked forward and up the stairs, searching for Twilight's room, making as much noise as an owl does while it flies in search of food. He walked past door by door; listening for the sounds of an Alicorn mare's breathing patterns. They always breathed quieter than other ponies, which were supposed to make it harder for whoever wanted to find them, but instead it singled them out of the countless others. Eventually, after 15 minutes of wandering about, Alpha found her room. The door was wooden, like the others, but had the symbol of a giant pink star with smaller white stars around it. He started to move his hoof towards the door but Beta stopped him.

"What?" Alpha whispered.

"_Listen." _

Alpha fell silent and slowed his breath so it would not interfere with his hearing. After a few seconds he heard the conversation.

"….Must not listen to him." Said a voice behind the door.  
"Why?" Said the other voice.  
"He will attempt to turn you against me."  
"And if he fails to turn me?"  
"He will kill you."

"Celestia." Alpha muttered to himself as he recognized her voice.

"What should I do if I encounter him?"  
"Do not trust what he says. He will attempt to show you memories of his death, in which he had modified them to show me torturing others. He successfully turned my sister, Luna."  
"So that's where she went!"  
"Exactly. Now my sister is a traitor to Equestria."  
"What does the other want?"  
"Revenge on me."  
"Why?"  
"I do not know. The scars you have been asking me about on my flank, the burn mark on my underbelly and my broken leg was the result of me trying to make peace with him."

Beta had silently teleported Alpha into the room, already cloaked and invisible. Alpha stood on the top of Twilight's wardrobe, watching and listening.

"If you ever encounter him, call the guards and tell me as soon as you possibly can, even if that means you have to leave your friends behind to defend themselves against them to tell me."

Twilight's eyes widened before slowly nodding to Celestia.

"It's great to see you and I wish I had more time to chat, but I have to leave."

Twilight nodded quickly. "I understand. It's nice to see you again."

Celestia nodded and smiled before teleporting off to her castle. Alpha was still watching, patiently waiting for the right time to speak. Twilight began to walk aimlessly in circles as she processed what she was just told.

Charlie and Delta appeared next to Alpha, cloaked and invisible as well. Although invisible, Alpha could see a shimmer move as Charlie and Delta nodded to them. Alpha and Beta returned the greeting and turned their attention to Twilight. He placed his left wing on Charlie's back, allowing Beta to talk to Delta without speaking.

"_What are you doing here?" _Beta exclaimed.

"_Here to help. Luna said where you two went and told us that you might needed some back-up."  
"Right, well to get you two up to speed, here's what you missed: Celestia was just talking to Twilight about I and Alpha, claiming that the injuries that we did to her was us being aggressive as she 'tried to make peace with us.'" _

"_Wow, so she does lie all the time. Why are you two originally here?"_

"_Earlier on today, Alpha modified, with my help, his old welding torch so it could be used at extreme temperatures to repair his wing and/or use it as an improvised weapon, considering how much damage it did to Celestia during the fight. I modified the spell of fire to be used inside the torch's fuel box as a replacement for the propane, for the spell of fire can burn at much hotter temperatures. As Alpha tested it out, the fuel box, made of metal, heated up at the use of the flame and slightly burnt Alpha's leg. He told me that he wanted to gain Resistance to Fire, in which I responded that-"_

"_Dragons are the only creatures known to be Resistant to Fire. The closest one near us was Spike." _Delta interrupted Beta's thought.

"_Exactly. However, we are caught in a situation. Twilight will call the guards and contact Celestia immediately if I or Alpha speak, but now that you are here, there may be a way to talk to her." _

"_Sombra…" _

"_Exactly."_

Delta nodded as he understood Beta's idea. Alpha removed his wing off of Charlie, bringing Beta back to him. "Did you tell him?"

"_Yes, he knows what we are trying to do now."_

Twilight had already stopped walking in circles and was now writing in her journal and studying for another exam.

A dim sphere of light appeared out of nowhere, (it actually came out of Charlie's chest) and flew down to Twilight. Twilight looked at the sphere and squeezed her eyebrows together; confused.

"Evening, Twilight. How are you?" Sombra asked.

"Sombra, what do you want?"

"To talk."

"About?"

The sphere began to grow as it transformed into a ghostly Sombra. "I understand that you see me as an Enemy. I can see why but I hope you can put that aside for now."

"Why?"

"Celestia."

"Did she send you here as a test to see if I would contact her."

"No, Beta sent me."

She drew a sharp breath and begun to teleport.

"Wait! Just hear me out!" Sombra exclaimed.

Twilight wanted to leave and contact Celestia, but her curiosity overcame her orders. "Fine." She said as she nodded. "But any tricks and I will leave at once."

"As you wish." Sombra said as he sat down. "As you may have heard from your Teacher, Beta was supposedly a bully."

"Not just a bully, but _the _bully. He killed millions with dark magic for entertainment before attacking Celestia herself! She only survived after using the Elements of Harmony against him! All the chaos that have been occurring recently is because Beta has returned, his darkness has disrupted Harmony across Equestria!"

Beta's rage began to rise.

"I know that he himself has told you differently but you believe that he was lying, correct?"

"He was lying. He is a liar and a traitor. He deserved to be obliterated. Celestia gave him a quick death on accident."

Beta's hatred and rage was too much for him and Alpha to handle. He jumped down, uncloaking himself and locking the door. _"If I was a traitor, you would be dead years ago. If I wanted to disrupt harmony, I would have done that before I met Alpha. If I was a liar, I would tell you to 'keep listening to Celestia, because if it comes from her mouth, it obviously has to be true. She would never lie to her subjects, especially her pupil, she would have nothing to gain from lying.'" _

Twilight began to teleport in fear but Beta's rage allowed him to restrict her teleporting abilities.

"_I DID NOT KILL MILLIONS FOR ENTERTAINMENT!" _

"Then what happened, huh? Tell me what happened to all of those other ponies that died during your time."

Charlie jumped down and uncloaked as well. His right eye was glowing blue while his left eye was glowing red. _"The Battle of the Victims happened." _

"And you are?" Twilight demanded.

"_I am Beta's friend, and the General of the Mutant's Guardians. I am Delta." _

"There is no such thing as that in any of the history books."

"_Because Celestia made it illegal to write anything about it! Have you noticed yet that there is not one good thing about Beta? That all of what is said of him is Evil? He is said to be a dark mutant pony with an endless bloodlust. If that was so, you and all of Equestria would be in ruin, flooded with blood."_ Delta cried out.

"Prove it!"

Several balls of light flew out of Charlie as each deceased King and Queen of Equestria appeared in front of Twilight. "WE ARE THE DECEASED RULERS OF EQUESTRIA, AND YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO. YOU HAVE BEEN USED WRONGLY, AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF." They all spoke at once.

Alpha walked up to Twilight and placed his hoof on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her.

"Celestia is a murderer. She is more power-hungry than Tirek and more deceiving and clever than Discord can ever dream of being. She is makes the Rainbow Factory look like a daycare, and Nightmare Moon a foal who is just beginning to learn magic. Celestia is much worse than The Legend of Beta says of Beta."

"EQUESTRIA IS A UTOPIA THANKS TO CELESTIA! WITHOUT HER WE WILL BE IN UTTER CHAOS AND RUIN." Twilight screamed as she forced herself to overcome Beta's rage and teleport. However she heard one last thing from Beta that made her begin to doubt Celestia.

"_Every utopia is a dystopia. No matter how perfect it is, it will always be cruel. It will hide itself in plain sight from the public, and show itself to those who defy its ruler. If you don't believe me, ask Zeta and Gamma for a tour in where she used to work, ask the librarian at the Museum of History about Nova, listen to the forbidden disk in Vinyl's music shop, talk to the Diamond Dogs after dark by yourself, or ask Discord about Nova's wife, Nebula."_

Twilight disappeared as she teleported to Celestia. Beta looked at Delta and nodded to the basket next to Twilight's bed before teleporting away, Delta and the others following suite. And once again, the castle was silent throughout the night. Twilight teleported back seconds after Delta left to grab Spike and gasped at the missing basket next to her bed.

The Canterlot Castle alarms began to whine.


	32. Chapter 30

Part 2: Chapter 10: The Penalty of Homosexuality

Alpha and Delta arrived with the basket floating beside them inside on one of the dueling platforms, just in case any fire that the little dragon fired wouldn't damage anything. And the dragon was spewing fire as if he turned into a volcano. Spike was hauling balls of fire and flames left and right. He was squirming around like an earthworm that was just dumped in a bucket of salt. Alpha and Charlie kept their distance close, but far enough to not get hit by the flaming balls. Eventually, (an hour), Spike calmed down and sat in his basket, staring at his perpetrators.

The Training Room was the size of the field in one the human sports: Football (not to be confused with _futball, _or 'soccer', in that sense). Every ten yards there would be a wall made up of metal and rock. Each "Hall" was designed as a platform, specifically designed to train a specific skill: Flying, Magic, Close Quarter Combat, and General Combat.

"Now that you have stopped fighting, let's talk." Alpha said in a friendly voice. "Let me introduce you to the group. My name is Alpha, my friend here-" He pointed to his glowing red eye. "Is Beta. Yes, the legendary Beta."

Then Charlie spoke. "Name's Charlie, Alpha's my coltfriend." He said proudly with a smile, his face slightly red. "_My_ friend is Delta." He said, winking his glowing blue eye.

"What do you colts want? What are you going to do to me?"

"Do? We aren't going to do anything to you?" Alpha said with a chuckle and a smile.

"Don't lie to me. You are probably gonna kill me slowly, torture me with welding torches, burn my tail off with a hot rod. Gonna rape me if I survive that, the both of you gonna rape me."

Alpha stepped back sharply in distraught. "Who told you that?"

"Celestia and Twilight did. They told me if I was ever dragon-napped by you two, a death by skinning me is considered a mercy killing."

"_Truth be told and in all honest,"_ Beta began. _"The last time I have ever tortured somepony was at the Rainbow Factory. I took over Alpha's body after he lost his wing, quite painfully I might add, which is ironically one of the things you are here for." _

"What do you mean?"

"_Alpha's welding torch. We modified it to use fire made by magic to be able to modify our wing if it gets damaged by Celestia again or another strong-magical pony." _

"What do you mean 'if it gets damaged by Celestia again'?"

"We encounter Celestia at the Factory three days ago. As you may already know, Celestia is quite powerful. During the duel between myself and Beta against Celestia, Celestia damaged my wing, broken my front and back leg and kicked a couple of teeth out." Alpha explained.

"No she didn't. You did that to her." Spike replied, confused.

Alpha tilted his head to the side in complete amazement at how Celestia bended history to her liking. His grin was from utter disbelief. He opened his mouth and flicked his tongue through the hole in his teeth where his front tooth would have been. "Just because Beta healed my bones and scratches, doesn't mean I wasn't hurt or injured. And what do you mean by 'the both of you are gonna rape me?'"

"Well aren't you two gay?"

Alpha looked at Charlie before looking back at Spike and nodding. "Yeah, why?"

"And you two are coltfriend-coltfriend right?"

Both Alpha and Charlie nodded this time. Charlie moved over to Alpha and was now standing right beside him.

"So you two will not rape me?"

"Why would we rape you?" Alpha asked.

"Well isn't that what Gay couples do?"

"WHAT!?" Alpha asked in complete and utter disgust.

"Well, everypony says that's what happens. That's why if a colt or mare is found gay or lesbian, they are to be executed on the spot."

All the emotion but anger and hatred drained from Alpha's face as he processed what he was just told. "Listen here, I brought you here to teach me Fire Resistance. Now if you DO teach me, I will set you free, you can go back to the lies and the fake history your fucking Princess shoves down your throat. After that, you WILL tell me everything about Gays and Lesbians and what happens to them if they go public. Do you understand? Or shall I have Beta show you himself?"

"I'm not scared of you or dying. If you kill me you won't learn fire resistance."

"_We don't really give a fuck if you die. If you do die, there are always other dragons to take your place. You were the closest dragon nearby." _

"Where will I sleep?"

Delta stepped in. _"You will be given your own separate bed, no guards protecting the entrance." _

"Aren't you two worried I might escape?"

"_Trust me, you won't be able to find your way out." _Delta said with a chuckle. _"Welcome to the 'Safe-Mountain. Come with me, I shall show you your room."_ He turned around, Spike following, dragging his basket behind him. Delta was expecting to hear another set of hooves behind him and was surprised to see Alpha still standing in place, staring at the other side of the room.

"_Alpha…You coming?" _

Alpha just stood there, not moving, almost as if he turned into a statue that was painted. The only thing that moved was his eyelids blinking, his underbelly expanding and contracting as he breathed.

"_Delta, this is Beta. I'm currently having a hard time talking here; Alpha is for some reason not speaking to-"_ Beta was cut-off midsentence as if he was on the radio and somepony turned the radio off with a switch. Alpha let out a bloodcurdling, raging scream of anger. A small blue light appeared a few centimeters above his forehead as Alpha's head twitched violently to the side, trembling.

Delta turned around, leaned forward and watched closely as the blue light began to grow and grow until it was the size of Alpha's head.

Alpha's head tilted all the way back before being violently brought back down, the ball of light turning into an intense beam of blue light, destroying the rock wall at the end of the 'hall'. After 30 seconds of non-stop firing, the beam disappeared as Alpha fell unconscious to the ground. Charlie, who had taken over of Delta, ran to his side, screaming his name. Spike was beside Charlie when he looked to his right and was amazed when the dust cleared. He poked Charlie's flank with one skinny finger.

"WHAT?!" Charlie screamed at him. Spike pointed where the dust had cleared and his jaw dropped open.

The wall of rock had been drilled through as if by a huge drill. Some rock had been heated up to the point of lava and was dripping from the ceiling. Smoke was coming from within the tunnel as whatever flammable material was in there stopped burning.

"_He's fine, He's fine." _Beta said, finally able to take control, although he was still stuck on the ground, laying on his side.

"Was that you?" Charlie asked

"_No, believe it or not. That was Alpha. To be honest with you three, I did not know that was possible." _

"_You yourself are a mutant, Beta." _Delta exclaimed.

"_No shit, but mutants find out about their ability long before they turn 13. After 13, their ability goes non-existent if they do not find out about it. Alpha did not know he was a mutant, and HE IS 18 YEARS OLD!" _Beta exclaimed. _"Now that I can talk without being restrained by Alpha, when were you two going to tell us what they do to gay and lesbian ponies?!" _

"Because it wasn't important." Charlie replied, his tone worried.

"_At least it's a quick death right? Quick and clean cut by sword to the neck or the Finem Vitae spell, right?"_

Charlie and Spike slowly shook their heads.

"_Whaddaya mean 'no'?" _

Spike muttered something softly.

"_Speak up, couldn't hear you."_

"They torture them, slowly. Those who do are called 'Beta's Friends'."

"_Great… Well, I'm teleporting Alpha to his bed for the night or until he wakes up again. 'Night." _

Spike nodded. Charlie placed his hoof on Alpha's shoulder and tapped it twice before removing it.

"_Don't worry, Charlie. If anything happens physically, I will be able to heal it." _

"And if it's mentally or emotionally?"

"_Then you better pray to Nebula that it doesn't." _

Charlie nodded and watched as Alpha disappear in a blinding flash of light before leading Spike to his new room. Once inside his new room, Spike asked one last question before hopping onto his own bed. "This is what life is like for you ponies?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Charlie replied, tired. "Goodnight, Sleep tight-"

"And don't let the bedbugs bite. I heard that one before." Spike interrupted, already under the covers.

"I was going to say 'Don't let Celestia be a fright', but that works too." Charlie replied with a smile before extinguishing the torch and walking away.

Charlie walked into his bedroom, plopped himself up on his own bed before closing his eyes.

* * *

Luna had walked inside the training room because she smelled the smoke and heard Alpha scream to find the gaping hole at the end of one of the 'halls'.

"What the fuck happened here? Why am I never told about his kind of shit until it happens? Seriously, if you ponies need to let off this type of steam, let me know and I can give you dreams where you can torture anypony you want." She sighed angrily as she walked out of the training room talking to herself. "Fucking Nebula," She said with a face hoof. "Now I gotta fix that hole."

"What hole?" Chrysalis said behind her after hearing her talk to herself.

"The one in training room."

"You found it? How was it?" Chrysalis replied, grinning.

"What do you mean? It's fucking huge and there is dripping lava from the ceiling inside the damn thing. Wait, what hole are you talking about?"

"The hole that lets you see inside the Stallion's locker room and showers." Chrysalis said with a calm face.

"What?!" Luna said with disgust. "I was talking about the hole in one of the 'halls'."

"Oh. Well I'm begging you, PLEASE don't fill up the hole I was talking about. Those stallions are cute when they take a shower. So much cuter than in those fun-stallion magazines!"

Luna looked at her in disbelief. "What do you do when you watch them?"

"You want me to tell you? I thought you were straight."

Luna's eyes widened as she realized what she did and what she was talking about. She face hoofed herself again, this time much more pushed against her face. "For fucks sake, I need a drink." Luna turned around and walked to the bar.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No." She looked back at Chrysalis, her eyes wide. "Fuck no."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." She said as she slowly nodded.

* * *

"He's gone! Spike's gone! They took him!" Twilight cried, tears streaming down her face as she told her Teacher.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, his basket where he sleeps was gone. It's always beside my bed!"

Celestia slowly nodded and placed a hoof on twilight's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but you are aware of what you must do if you see him again, correct?"

Twilight looked up to her with fear in her eyes. "I WILL NOT KILL MY FRIEND!"

"You must! Beta's lies cannot spread. If they do…." Celestia trailed off.

"What?!" Twilight wiped her eyes, no longer crying but in anger. "What would happen, huh? What would happen if anypony would listen to Beta?! He is a fucking bully, you told me yourself! Nopony would believe him!"

"I was wrong. I lied."

"Well I lied too. I met Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta as soon as you left. They were waiting for me."

Celestia looked down at twilight, in shock. "What!? Why didn't you tell me this in the first place?"

"Because I wanted to see how you reacted."

"Your friend, if turned is now an enemy to me."

"Discord was an enemy but now he has turned good. Can't you do the same to Beta!?"

"Discord and Beta are two totally different things!"

"Why?!"

"BECAUSE BETA IS A VICTIM!" Celestia blurted out. Once she realized what she said, she covered her mouth with her hooves.

"Because he is a victim. Because he is acting on his pain...not because he liked to hurt others, but he himself was hurt…." Twilight muttered as she realized the truth. "What he said IS true…." She said with a terrifying grin. "You let him suffer, then punished him…You sick piece of shit! What Beta said is true! You bent the rules of history to make you the hero. Make Beta a bully, not a victim. He was acting on his pain and you punished him because he had no other way out! No wonder why he hates you so much."

"So, do you now hate me?"

"Hate? No. But I am no longer with you. I am still a Princess."

"That really doesn't stop me. I can fake your death as I did Sombra's." Celestia said with a dark grin on her face, no longer scared of revealing her original self to Twilight.

"But I'm an element of harmony, you kill me all harmony will be in chaos."

"YOU aren't an element of Harmony. You are a conduit of its magic. That's the only reason its magic works for you. If you die, there can always be a replacement. As for your magic in Friendship, that can be replaced as well. The younger the mares are in a five way friendship makes its magic stronger as they continue to be friends, that's all. There isn't really anything special."

Twilight looked distraught.

"What? Did you really believe you were powerful? You are just a pawn, a Princess who doesn't even know how to command an army yet."

"I defeated Tirek!"

"You defeated him with MY MAGIC, not yours."

"I used the magic of friendship."

"Come now, Sparkle, The Cutie Mark Crusaders have more power in friendship than your group of friends has. Speaking of which, I'm thinking of making Sweetie bell a student."

"But she isn't an Alicorn."

"And neither were you."

"What!? I have a horn and wings!"

"You used to have a horn only, but after you took that potion that I gave Zecora, your Zebra friend…"

"You gave that to her?"

"Every item she owns I gave her, I just gave it to another pony to give to her."

"And Spike?"

"To be honest, I found that egg on the ground of a Dragon's den. Eggs are only thrown on the ground if there is a deformity within the DNA of the Dragon within the egg. At this age, Spike should be as big as me. He's a failed dragon. Technically, he has Mental Retardation."

Twilight's eyes were full of horror. Her worst fears had just come true.

"A Dragon's main enemy from birth are ponies, it's embedded into their memory from their DNA. The only reason why he hasn't killed you is because he has Mental Retardation." She looked down at Twilight. "Oh come now, did you really think you were special?"

Twilight disappeared in a blinding flash of purple light as she teleported away. A guard galloped up to Celestia, and knelt before her.

"What do you want?"

"Shall we send the troops after her, Princess?" The guard asked,

"No, let her speak. No pony will listen to her."

"As you wish." The guard replied with a bow before leaving.

Celestia sighed as she realized what she had just done. "Great…another Beta to deal with."


	33. Chapter 31

Part 2: Chapter 11: Confusion. Depression. Realization. Revenge.

Alpha stirred as he slowly woke up. He groaned in his half-sleep state as the pain-receptors in his body began to relay pain to his brain. His forehead felt as if it just had a close call with the sun. His throat felt as if he had been screaming for hours. His chest felt as if he was just punched with an iron fist. He quickly drew a breath as he gasp, remembering what just happened. Alpha stood up on his bed and, as if he just saw Celestia on the wall next to him, backed up quickly, falling off the bed onto the ground with a thud.

"_Well, seems like you are awake."_ Beta said as soon as Alpha hit the ground.

"What happened?!" Alpha asked, eccentric. His mind was at like Mach 2.

"_I'm going to let you figure that out."_

His tone complete caught Alpha off guard. Normally, after waking up, Beta usually sounded bored or groggy, but this time, it seemed as if he sounded excited or even happy. Once Alpha's memory returned, Alpha's eyes grew wide, his breathing slowed down. "I…used…"

"_Go on…" _Beta said, as if he was watching a very suspenseful movie.

"…Magic…" The word seemed to halt his trails of thought, his world halted almost instantly as the word passed through his lips. He felt Beta smile with glee and happiness, a feeling of pride and proudness rushed through him as he realized what he had just accomplished. "I…used...magic?!" He repeated, a bewildered smile formed.

"_Yeah you did. And you didn't just make a torch light up, you destroyed a rock wall."_

"What?!" Alpha said in disbelief. "Prove it."

He disappeared in flash of light as Beta teleported him to the platform he was on hours ago. He gazed into the giant hole in front of him. Although the lava had stopped dripping from the ceiling, he could still feel the heat wave even though he was 20 feet away from it. "I did do that?" He asked Beta, still in shock of what he had just done.

"_Yeah. You froze after Spike mentioned something. I tried to take over but you weren't letting me. At once you screamed and…well, that happened." _He said, nodding towards the wall.

"Do we know what triggered it?"

"_I have a couple of ideas, but I don't want to try them out right now." _

"Why not?"

"_Two reasons. 1. We don't need another hole in the mountain. And 2. The magic you accessed was your own, but as you used it, I felt what you were feeling, and it somewhat freaked me out." _

Alpha took a step back, his attention still directed towards the hole. "Well, what was it?"

"_It was rage." _

"So, you felt my rage before while fighting."

"_Yes, but this was different. Rage, in its basic form, is powerful, as it is anger that has been blocked for too long and is released all at once. My magic is based off of my rage, which I can pretty much create in an instant. Your rage was rage, but as what others consider rage as anger, yours came from a different source, which either meant it was from confusion or depression." _

"What are you saying here? That my depression caused me to use magic, because we both know what I felt wasn't depression."

"_Slow down and listen to me. Rage is most commonly found with anger, but anger isn't usually made from annoyance of something. When a pony is depressed, they can easily turn that depression into anger, which, 100% of the time, turns to rage. Confusion of a multitude of times can also lead into another form of anger, in which the pony does not know why he or she is angry but just is. Do you understand what I'm telling you?" _

"Somewhat, yes, but how does this have anything to do with anything that scared you?"

"_The rage you felt was based off anger created by depression, realization, and confusion." _

"So?"

"_My rage, the same rage I had during my LEGENDARY Rampage, was composed of FOUR types of anger. Can you guess what they were?"_

"Depression. Confusion. Realization." Alpha said slowly as he realized what he was so scared about. "But what's the fourth?"

"_The fourth was Revenge. When you used magic, I was scared as I felt almost the exact same thing as I did during my Rampage. It scared me, to realize that I, Beta, The LEGENDARY Beta, wasn't the only one with that type of power." _

Alpha chuckled. "I won't turn against you, Beta. That isn't gonna happen."

Beta growled. _"That isn't the point!" _

"I can become like you!" Alpha said, happy with the realization that he was a mutant. "I could use magic!"

"_STOP!" _Beta screamed in fear. The tone slammed into Alpha as if he had just flown as fast as he could into a rock wall. He had never heard Beta talk with fear in his voice. Ever. _"Do you understand the guilt that I have to go through every damn day?" _

"What are you talking about?" Alpha said, walking back to his room.

"_After I was defeated and utterly destroyed, I realized what I had just done, and I was horrified, petrified." _

"Why?"

"_Before my 'incident', I never attacked, never threatened, I defended myself, but I didn't kill. It had crossed my mind before, only when I was being bullied or defending myself during fights, but I never dared to kill." _

Alpha walked inside his room and closed the door, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. "You have always talked about yourself before, during, and after your 'incident, so I apologize in advance if I have to ask you to explain, but go on."

"_It's fine. As I was saying, I never actually wanted to kill in the first place. It was just even after I learned magic I was still bullied, no matter how I used it, it always got worse. Remember that I told you that I died at age eight?" _

"Yeah, in the factory."

"_I lied. The legend says I died at age eight, in reality, my personality at age eight changed brutally and nearly instantly. Who I was back then died, who I am now took over." _

Alpha propped himself up onto the bed, already forgetting about being able to use magic, too absorbed in Beta telling his story.

"_I ran away from home after a mother whose colt's horn I ripped off during a fight, which was actually the first time I found out it was possible." _

"Why did you run?"

"_I thought I was going to attract to a lot of unwanted attention to my family, so I ran away hoping to stop my family from getting said attention." _

"Where did you go?"

"_I ran into the EverFree Forest. I encountered a squad of guards, easily taking them out, not killing them though. I found a sword and a spear, then left them for the Creatures within the Forest before stumbling across the Castle of the Two Sisters, where I met what remained of Nightmare Moon's dark magic." _

"What do you mean?" Alpha said, laying his head on his pillow, his hooves underneath it.

"_Although Luna herself, her physical self was banished to the moon, her dark version wasn't. It stayed at the castle where it was defeated, protecting it as if it was still alive. It found me and attacked me. During the fight, I accidently created Estefani, my original suit of armor, made of Dragon Metal. After she realized I was a mutant and why I had ran away, she decided to teach me, since no other pony would teach a mutant, let alone leave it unscathed. She saw me as somepony in the same situation she was in but worse; alone, ignored, hated, beat up, abused, and discriminated. Colts and fillies see Luna as a savior or a symbol of hope. She patrols the dreams of all those who dream, making sure they do not have nightmares and give them hope."_

"What do you see her as?"

"_I saw her as a mother, a teacher, and a rare friend." _

Alpha clenched his jaw and shut his eyes as he heard the word 'mother' and 'friend'. Beta noticed this and stopped talking about his life.

"_Are you okay?" _

Alpha nodded, his eyes still shut.

"_You know you were always a terribly liar."_

"I'm fine, Beta." Alpha said, trying to keep his depression in check. He bit his lip to stop himself from focusing on his depression and more on the pain in his mouth. His chest began to feel as if it was being pushed hard.

"_We both know that isn't true. What's wrong?" _

Alpha squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to forcefully keep his depression at bay. His chest felt as if it was being crushed inwards. He tasted blood.

"_Alpha?" _

He shook his head, and did not allow himself to talk. If he did, he knew he wouldn't last a second. He felt Beta nudge him, his special way of gaining his attention. Just at the last second before his depression took control, he stood up, and walked out of his room. He jumped off the balcony and flew out of the mountain into the night sky.

Memories of being alone in the factory, being bullied, ignored and alienated when he was a stray began to flood his mind as his depression set in. He stared at the night sky as he flew through the clouds. His thoughts began to melt into the depression. One theory stood out from the rest of his thoughts. It seemed to take priority over all others.

"_Don't you even dare to consider that!" _Beta said, worried.

"Why not? What if it's true!?"

"_It isn't!" _

"Then why the hell did all this happen to ME!?" He screamed into the night. A jagged bolt of lightning appeared several feet from Alpha as a roar of thunder shook his bones. "Why was I tortured instead of killed? Why was I abandoned by my parents? Why didn't you let me die when I was unconscious in the factory!? Why didn't Celestia kill us when she had the chance?" He lowered his head as he landed on the ground, tears dripping onto the ground, at the entrance of the EverFree Forest. "Why us? Why mutants? Why are those who are different than others get punished for being different?" He stopped talking as it begun to rain. The droplets of the cold liquid began to, ever so slowly, calm Alpha down.

Beta sighed. _"It's just in everypony's mind." _

Alpha grinded his teeth in disagreement, in the midst of anger and depression.

"_Listen, Why did you save Charlie and Delta from the factory?" _

"Because they were in a bad place. They were being hurt and would've died had we not helped them."

"_The same goes for me. I saw you being hurt and you would've died had I not helped you. Have I not helped you, Luna would not have known about the Factory, Charlie and Delta would be dead, John would have never found Scootaloo and taught her how to fly, Rainbow Dash would be still working at the Factory, and you wouldn't have be in a grave. No strands of Hair, no splinters of bones, no pony freed from that place, No remains of you." _

"And this was supposed to help me?"

"_Listen Alpha. Because of you I was able to find out that parents left me a message. Because of you Scootaloo reunited with her father. Because of you Charlie and Delta are alive. Because of you hundreds if not thousands of prisoners of the factory are now free and able to back to their families. Because of you-"_

"I found that what I was grown up and taught was a lie." A mare's voice said, interrupting Beta, behind Alpha. He turned his head around, his face emotionless as he recognized the Alicorn from last night.

Twilight's eyes were red from sobbing. If not for Alpha's keen eyesight, he would have missed the small but still bleeding cuts on the back of her front legs. He stood there, just looking at her for what seemed like hours before speaking again.

"So you left. Why?" He asked.

"I left because I couldn't accept the fact that Celestia had not just lied to me but to everypony in Equestria."

Alpha nodded. "Seems like you are gonna need a place to sleep and rest." He nodded to her legs, his eyes pointed to the cuts. "Not to mention some help."

She nodded. Twilight watched as his right eye flickered red violently as Alpha argued with Beta. Eventually, the flickering stopped and his eye turned back into its glowing red state.

Beta took over and smiled. Even through the thick layer of rain, Twilight could still see his eyes glowing clearly.

"_You think we can trust her?" _Beta said after giving Alpha back control.

Alpha began to grin, wiping the tears away from his eyes. "Don't know."

"_If she joins, she could easily help. We can use some actual help." _Beta said, his eyes focused on Twilight.

"But if she tells…"

"_She won't tell." _

"How do you know?"

"_Because we know what exactly she is going through."_

Twilight shook her head in confusion. "What are you two talking about?"

"_You have found out that the truth you were told since you could remember was a lie all along. You are conflicted, having no clue which side to choose." _

"_We are giving you an opportunity of an immortal's lifetime." _He said, holding out his hoof. Beta's eye seemed to almost…sparkle with what? Knowledge? Trust? Curiosity? Sympathy?

"But what if the truth you are told since the day you were born was a lie? How can you deny it?"

"_What if the lie you were told since the day you were born was the truth. How can you accept it?" _Beta held out a hoof. _"I know you don't trust me, but there isn't a lot that you know." _

"What are you saying?"

"We are offering to show you the actual history of Equestria as it is, not as you know it."

"What do you want in return?"

Alpha shook his head. "Nothing."

Twilight nodded then held up her own hoof. "Is Spike okay?"

"_Spike's fine. He is asleep in his room." _

"You gave him his own room?"

"_Yeah, he can look after himself. He is a dragon after all." _

"He is mentally retarded."

"_So? I and Alpha are mutants, which are worse than having retardation, and we are fine."_

Twilight glared at him.

"_For now."_ He added. _"Come on, I'll show you were we live." _Beta said as he took hold of Twilight's hoof and guided her through the forest.

"Can I ask you a question?" Twilight said, following Alpha.

"Who are you talking to?" Alpha said.

"You of course." Twilight replied, slightly annoyed.

Alpha stopped in his tracks and turned his head around to look at the Alicorn. "Which one?"

"Oh. Uh…Both of you."

Alpha turned his head back around and continued walking. "Sure, what's up?"

"Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"

"_What do you mean 'when we had the chance'?" _

"Any time after you escaped from the factory."

"_You were never our target. Our target is Celestia." _

"I can understand that for you, Beta. But Alpha, why is your target Celestia?"

He flexed his right wing out. "My wing was taken off when I was in the factory as punishment for saving a mare. Instead of being put to death, I was tortured. I want to know why."

"I know why."

Alpha froze as he turned around. "What do you mean?"

Twilight sighed. "I know why she did not allow you to be killed."

"What was the purpose?" Alpha said. He could hear his heart pump in his ears.

"She did it because-"

Beta took over instantly. _"NOOOOOOOOPE!" _He said, interrupting Twilight. _"Let's go the mountain without talking now." _

Twilight shook her head. "What the hell, Beta?"

Beta forcefully knocked out Alpha before walking over to Twilight, his mane and tail glowing red. _"YOU WILL NOT TELL HIM!" _

"Why not?" Twilight demanded.

"_I DO NOT NEED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY YOU CANNOT TELL HIM." _

"Then I won't come with you." Twilight argued.

Beta sighed. _"Alpha is going through a dark depression right now. If you tell him that Celestia tortured him just for fun and because she could, he would…"_ His voice trailed off.

"He would what?"

"_Telling him would totally destroy his life. He is already in depression right now because he feels that what he has done isn't important to anypony anymore. The reason he was crying when you were behind us was because his depression was too much for him to handle." _

Twilight nodded. "You are aware that he will find out, whether you like it or not."

"_I know. But he is not ready. Not now. Come on, let's go." _

He led her past the swamps, nearly encountering an ogre, beyond Zecora's cottage and into the mountain.

* * *

As Twilight entered the mountain, she met a very intoxicated Luna.

"Twileet, you're here!" She said as she staggered to Twilight.

"Twileet?" Twilight asked, confused.

"_She's drunk." _

"No, really?" Twilight replied sarcastically.

"-hic- She's funny." Luna said as she made her way up the stairs to her room. Chrysalis came up behind Beta and Twilight.

"I think I gave her a _tiny bit_ too much vodka."

Twilight whirled around, her horn glowing as she recognized Chrysalis's voice. "YOU!"

Beta stepped in front of Twilight. _"Hey, Hey! She's with us!" _

A loud thud was heard.

"What do you mean 'she's with us'?"

"_It's another lie Celestia told you. Chrysalis used to be an Alicorn." _

"What?!" Twilight barked, her horn no longer glowing.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you tomorrow." Chrysalis said as she walked up the stairs before finding out what hit the ground and laughing all the way to her room. Twilight and Beta walked up the stairs to find out what Chrysalis was laughing at. They found Luna, who had fallen asleep in the doorway of her own room, right next to Spike's.

Beta shook his head and walked over to Luna, lifting her up and placing her on her bed. He walked out of her room and came back with a metal bucket and placed it next to her bedside. He then walked back out of the room before closing the door. _"She's gonna have one hell of a hangover."_

Twilight nodded in agreement.

"_His bedroom is right there."_ Beta said as he showed Twilight where Spike was_. "If you want, we can get you a separate room."_

"It's fine. Goodnight." Twilight said as she walked into Spike's room and closed the door.

* * *

Beta was in the middle of closing the door to his bedroom when Alpha forcefully took over. And was he was furious.

"WHAT THE FUCK, BETA?!" Alpha screamed in anger.

Beta did not reply.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! I WAS ABOUT TO LEARN WHY-"

"_I knew what you were about to learn, but I was scared." _

"OOOH, BETA'S SCARED, HE'S AFRAID AND TAKES CONTROL LIKE A FUCKING PARENT IF HE THINKS IM IN DANGER!" Alpha said in a mocking tone.

Beta gritted his teeth, doing what he can to control his anger. _"Alpha. Listen. To. Me." _

"YOU KNOW YOU AREN'T MY FATHER, YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT? ALL YOU ARE IS MY BEST FRIEND, NOTHING MORE."

Everything froze for Alpha. For a few seconds, he couldn't breathe. Once he could, he collapsed to the floor, feeling extremely weak. He struggled to move but his body wouldn't respond. His eyes fluttered open and saw a ghostly figure standing in front of him. His brown eyes focused on the hair in front of his eyes. It no longer had its red tinge. He writhed in agony as pain erupted throughout his right wing. After the pain subsided to a dull ache, his eyes focused beyond his hair at the ghostly figure sitting in front of him.

Alpha raised his eyes to face the ghost and felt a pang of regret and sorrow. He wished that he could take what he had said back. The ghost's skin was brown, his mane and tail were red, while his eyes were glowing red. Beta sighed as he looked at his friend, weak and helpless. Alpha knew for a fact he knew the reason why he was tortured instead of killed.

"Where the hell…" Alpha said, groaning. "Did you learn to do that?"

"_I always knew I could do it. You calm now?" _

Alpha nodded, lowering his head. "I'm sorry for what I said. I felt so close to the end of my search that I was not going to allow anything stop me."

"_It's fine. I can understand why you reacted like you did."_ He chuckled with a smile. _"How are you feeling?" _

"Like shit. Can barely stand up." Alpha admitted. "If I am understanding this correctly," He said as he looked up at Beta. "You _un-bonded _with me just now."

Beta nodded.

"Can you bond with me again?"

Beta nodded.

"Can other spirits bond with me?"

Beta shrugged his shoulders. _"I doubt it." _

"Why?"

"_The bond between us is still there. Although I am currently not bonded with you, the bond that was created between us still exists, it's just dormant." _

Alpha slowly nodded, doing what he can to understand. He struggled as he sat up, his front legs like felt like Jelly. "Why do I feel weak?"

"_You are currently experiencing Full Control of your body. When we were bonded, you controlled 50%, I controlled 50%. That's how I could take over if you were in danger. I was always in control, but I pretty much left you in control of your movements." _

"Are you going to leave me?" Alpha said, somewhat afraid of what the answer might be.

Beta shook his head. _"Why would I? To my and your knowledge, you are the only one that is willing to bond with me, let alone bond at all. Instead of hating me, you like me despite the fact of what I have done in the past. You are the only one who I think actually understand me. Why would I throw away some-WOAH!" _Beta said in surprise as he fell through the floor.

Alpha waited a few minutes, thinking that it was some sort of joke. "Beta?"

Beta popped up from the floor, only his head was visible. _"Yeah?"_

"You can faze through solid objects now?"

Beta smiled with glee and excitement. _"Yeah, totally forgot about all this." _He said as he flew through the floor and began to float around the room. _"Before I found you, this is what it was like for me; just floating around."_ He grinned. _"I used to have so much fun as I moved objects and scared ponies." _

Alpha smiled as an idea formed in his mind. "Beta…"

"_Mhm?"_ Beta said, enjoying himself as he regained his freedom of whatever he wanted to do.

"You can faze through anything right?" Alpha asked, staring at the wall, his mind soaring past Pluto.

"_Yeah." _

Alpha struggled as he pushed himself up with a new source of willpower and energy. The color in his eyes and hair slowly returned to its original color as Alpha regained his body. He had a smile of excitement and curiosity.

"_What are you thinking about?"_ Beta said, turning his attention to his friend.

"We have a way to find out now." Alpha said, talking to himself.

"_A way to find out what?" _

Alpha looked up to Beta. "What is in your tomb?"

_"Why do you want to know what's in my tomb?"_

"Because you and I both know that your body was destroyed when Celestia defeated you. If that is true, why would a hallway, with your tomb at the end of it, be necessary?"

"_Because if it's not housing my body, it's housing something else." _Beta slowly thought aloud as the idea formed in his mind.

"And I bet I know what it is."

Beta stared at Alpha's metallic wing.

* * *

Twilight stood, staring at Spike who was sleeping. If he woke up and looked at Twilight, he would notice that her left eye was glowing neon purple.

And the other neon green.


	34. Chapter 32

Part 2: Chapter 12: A Close Friend's Teacher

"_Come on, Alpha!"_ Beta said excitedly.

Alpha smiled as he made his way down the flight of stairs and towards the tomb. "You need to calm down."

"_You need to hurry up!"_ Beat replied as he glided through the rock walls. He turned to look at his tomb while he waited for his friend. _"Alpha, are you coming?"_ He said after a few moments.

"Beta…"

"_What?"_

"Watch this."

Beta looked around to see Alpha halfway down the hallway, staring at a lit torch. He flew to Alpha. _"What am I looking at here?" _Alpha nodded to the torch. Beta turned his head to look at the torch and watched as it dimmed down to a considerably low state before rising up until it was spewing fire until it looked like Alpha's welding torch was using Napalm as its fuel. _"That's odd. Are you-"_ Beta stopped talking as he looked back at Alpha.

He was staring at the torch, grinning in disbelief. Breathing slowly, he seemed as if he was concentrating on the flame, as if _he_ was manipulating the flame. The colors in Alpha's mane were pulsating; it would light up until all its colors were in their neon form then would they would dim back to their original dark color before lighting up again. Alpha's breathing and his mane pulsating was in sync with beat. When he breathed in, his mane lit up. When he breathed out, his mane dimmed.

"Beta…" Alpha said without taking his eyes off of the flame.

"_You are doing that, aren't you?"_

Alpha nodded. The flame, spewing fire like a flamethrower, died down and formed a small sphere of fire.

"_You know what? Screw what's inside my tomb, I got a better idea."_ Beta said after a while. He disappeared as he bonded back with Alpha.

The small sphere of flame extinguished itself.

"Aww, why'd you do that?"Alpha complained.

"_Because we are going to go meet an ol' friend of mine."_

Alpha raised an eyebrow. "A friend that is still alive?"

"_Yup."_

Alpha backed out of the hallway and walked to his room. He made his way to his bed and leaned down, grabbing and slipping on his brace, and his bag. He disappeared in flash of red light as Beta teleported him to the peak of the mountain.

Alpha landed on the peak, the snow crunching under his hooves. It was early in the morning, the sun starting to rise as Celestia did her job. "Well then, where to?"

"_Tartarus." _

"Which is where?"

"_We aren't flying there; we can be easily caught if we fly during the day. I'll teleport us there."_ Beta replied before Alpha disappeared in another flash of red light.

Alpha landed on a stone-made road. He shook his head to rid of the blurriness and confusion before looking up and taking a step back.

Looking down upon him stood the Three-Headed dog Cerberus. He was huge, easily bigger than Celestia when she stood on her hind legs. His fur coat was black and had spikes of what seemed to be made of stone. Its faces looked like the faces that bulldogs own. Its eyes were yellow with red pupils and had a spike collar on each of the three head's necks.

"Oh." Alpha said, his heart beating loudly in his ears. "Hi there."

The head in the middle of the three spoke. "THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA. LEAVE NOW OR BE PUNISHED WITH INSTANTANEOUS DEATH." Its voice was loud and calm but hoarse. It reminded Alpha of how his voice was after yelling in agony in the Factory; all low and thick.

"To be honest, that has never really scared me." Alpha admitted, pushing the thought aside.

"LEAVE NOW."

"_Chill out, C, It's Beta."_ Beta said, taking over.

"Oh, my apologies." Cerberus apologized to Beta, lowering his voice. "How are you?"

"_I am fine. You?"_

"Doing good. Finally away from other ponies so it's all quiet and peaceful here. What are you doing here and who's the colt?"

"_His name is Alpha, a close friend of mine. Anyway, I'm here to talk to Mr. T, is he here?"_

Cerberus nodded. He lifted his paw and pointed back to the platform in the center. "He hasn't left. I have heard what you two have done recently and I have to admit, I am impressed. He will be impressed to see you two as well."

"_Thanks. It's nice to see another old friend like yourself, one that is still alive."_

"Likewise." Cerberus said with a nod as he moved to the right to allow Alpha to pass.

"_One last thing," _Beta added.

"Yes?"

"_If we get him out of the cage, can he leave Tartarus and come with us?" _

Cerberus grinned. "If you can get him out of that cage, you can do whatever you want with him. The cage is made out of your _Dragon Metal_."

"_Okay, Thanks." _

Alpha walked past Cerberus and began to walk up the stairs to Beta's friend. After half a hour of climbing up the stairs, Alpha's legs were burning. He got to the top of the platform and realized who Mr. T was.

Standing in a cage that was forged using _Dragon Metal, _stood a red centaur. He had a pair of black horns that curved outwards then inwards then outwards on the top of his head. Wearing only his black shirt, the centaur looked as if he was in style with the social dress code for centaurs. He was sitting in the middle of the cage, his eyes closed, deep in meditation.

"Who are you?" He said without opening his eyes.

"The name's Alpha." Alpha asked, ignoring the centaur's initial question.

"What are you here for?"

"_WE are here to talk to you, Mr. T."_

"No one has called me that in a long time." The centaur said, opening his eyes and looking at Alpha. "It's nice to hear from you, my pupil. Are you somewhere where I can see you?"

Alpha waved his hoof in the air.

"I'm not talking to you, colt."

"_Are you sure about that, Tirek?"_

Tirek laughed aloud in disbelief. "You learned how to bond?! You know that is an advanced type of magic that even I don't know how to do, right?"

"_Yeah I do. We are here to make you a deal."_

"Go on." Tirek replied happy to be in the company of an old friend.

"_Alpha is 18 years old and recently, about two nights ago, we both found out that he was a mutant. Now you and I know that this rarely happens because after the age of 13, the mutant ability usually dies out if it is not discovered."_

Tirek smiled. "You actually remembered what I told and taught you." He nodded. "Yes, that is correct. If the pony finds out about his mutant ability after the age of 13, it is not as powerful as it was if it was found before age of 13. It does not grow in power but gets weaker and weaker over time, even if its used."

"_How strong is the ability to use magic for a mutant who finds out about it at age 18?" _

"On average, based on a study of 1000 mutants who found out about their ability after the age of 13…" Tirek trailed off as he recalled the information of mutants. "It would be able to shatter a glass sheet about five centimeters thick, no more."

"_Well, Alpha here had a bit of a meltdown. He accessed his ability when he had three of the four ingredients of what made up my rage."_

"Confusion, Realization, Depression, and Revenge. I remember." He said with a nod. "How strong was it?"

"_Pretty strong." _

"Define strong."

"_Strong as in it could easily beat me in a duel."_

"Really?" Tirek asked, his eyebrows raised. "Interesting. So what is this deal you are proposing?"

"_I was wondering if you could do an evaluation on what he can do and what type of magic it is." _

"And what do I get in return?"

"_Currently, Alpha and I have an army of ponies and mutants who are against Celestia. You evaluate Alpha and in return, you can join us."_

"Alpha," Tirek said. "What do you have against Celestia?"

Alpha reached to his metallic wing and took it off, revealing the remains of the charred wing.

"How did that happen?"

"Have you ever heard of the Rainbow Factory?

"No, what is it?"

"_Long story short, after The Battle of the Victims, Celestia was short on magic and was very, very weak. At that time, numerous pegasi were failing the flying test, Magic itself was rare to find, and the market was in chaos causing the Economy to go down."_

"Ok." Tirek said, listening intently.

"_Celestia needed a way to regain her magic to stabilize Equestria, so she created the Rainbow Factory. The Rainbow Factory is exactly what it sound like. It's a factory that creates rainbows."_

"I understand, but how is this relevant to his missing wing?"

"_To create rainbows, you need a source of pure magic."_

"So?"

"_There was an endless supply of pegasi that were failing the test." _

"The factory is a death camp?" Tirek asked in suprise and disbelief.

"Pretty much. Celestia found out that the blood inside Pegasus colts were made up of almost pure magic. So she created the Factory and in doing so regained her magic." Alpha intervened.

"This rainbow blood, do you have any of it?"

Alpha nodded. He opened his bag and took out the jar of blood.

"That's just a jar of blood. I'm talking about the rainbow version you were talking about."

Alpha, without replying, took off the cap. The oxygen made contact with the blood and turned it into its rainbow colored state.

"So I'm guessing that your wing is gone because you were at the factory right?"

Alpha nodded as he gave the jar to Tirek. "Yeah, I used to work in the Metal repairing part of the Factory. A week before my 11th birthday, I saved a mare from hurting herself as she played around with my welding torch. One week later, I was punished for doing the right thing."

Tirek took a sip of the rainbow liquid and slightly grew as he regained power. "May I drink all of this?"

"_Not all, but you can drink some."_

Tirek nodded in thanks. He took another gulp of the liquid, growing as he absorbed the magic. "Why were you punished?"

"That is a good question." Alpha replied. "I will get back to you on that once I find out why."

"Ok, but how do you know that Celestia was behind it."

"Because before I was punished I was told that they _"had specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive." _"

Tirek had already drank half of the jar of blood before giving it back to Alpha. Alpha took it, placed the cap back on and placed it back in his bag.

"_Feeling better?"_

"Much. Thank you." Tirek replied. "There is a problem, however, with your deal."

"_Which is?"_

"How are you planning to get me out of here? The cage is made up of your metal."

"I could try…" He said.

"_Try what?"_

"You said that the magic I did two nights ago could easily beat you in a duel, right?"

"_Yeah."_

"If I did the same against the cage, would it rip it apart?"

"_Maybe."_ Beta turned to Tirek. _"Should we try it?"_

"It would give me a sample of his magic. Hell, why not?"

Beta disappeared as he bonded back with Alpha. _"Are you sure you want to do this?" _

"Yes, I'm sure." Alpha said as he closed his eyes and brought up memories of his time in the factory. He needed to turn his depression into a rage like emotion. He stood still for five minutes as he searched his memories for something to kickstart his depression.

"_Alpha, it's been five minutes. It was a good idea but-"_

Alpha's head twitched violently to the right as the memory of his punishment filled his mind. His breathing became quick takes of air; his body seemed to begin to vibrate as Alpha trembled with his newfound source of rage.

"_So Tirek, I can't control Alpha right now. He has fully taken control of his body and-"_ Beta was interrupted as a cone of neon blue magic instantly appeared from Alpha's forehead, firing at the cage. The magic attacked atoms in the metal. The atoms released their bonds with the other atoms and began to disentergrate. The metal was easily chipped away at the cage until only Tirek remained with shards of what _was_ a cage. Tirek was knocked down onto his side by the sheer amount of magic and groaned as he pushed himself up. _"Now about that evaluation, I think you have more than enough of a sample of his magic to check what he can do."_

"I think we both know what Alpha can do based off what we just witnessed. You and I can teach him how to use it properly."

"What?" Alpha said, snapping out of the trance he was in. "Teach me what?"

"_How to use, control and learn magic."_

"Beta can teach you the spells and how to use them."

"_And Mr. T can teach you how to duel and fight using them."_

"Wait," Alpha interrupted. "I thought you said you taught yourself magic."

Tirek laughed. "My colt, Beta did teach himself magic."

"How does he know you then?"

"I taught him."

"Taught him what?"

"I taught Beta how to fight and duel."

"So," Alpha replied with a smile, amazed that Tirek taught Beta how to fight. Ideas flew through Alpha's mind as he imagined what Tirek could teach him. "Would like to join us?" He said, his voice barely hiding the glee he was experiencing.

Tirek laughed hard. "You ask as if I would turn down this opportunity."

Alpha smiled as Beta teleported Tirek and himself to the Safe-Mountain. Giving Mr. T a room of his own, Tirek thanked Alpha and Beta from freeing him from the prison and closed the door. Alpha, now tired, trotted happily to his room. Once inside his room, he took off his bag and set it aside near his bed. His metallic wing clattered on the ground as it fell from Alpha's hoof. The 18 year old colt was exhausted, having no rest besides being unconscious since two days ago.

With a hop-like jump, the colt leaped upon the untidy bed. He soared gracefully in the air for the few seconds he had. His head hit the white pillow first, it's shape contracting as weight was applied onto the center of it. The poor colt was already dead asleep before the rest of his body fell onto the bed. The body bounced twice as the springs in the mattress absorbed and dispersed the energy transferred onto them.

With the creaking of the bed ceased, the safe mountain was again once quiet, void of life.

* * *

Inside the tomb, the legendary, timeworn suits of armor began to pulsate with life, for their creator was near. Gears spun wildly as each suit came back to life and readied itself for use.


	35. Chapter 33

Part 2: Chapter 13: Exam

Today was the day of his Exam.

Bolts of red, green and yellow flashed around Alpha.

_I hate sparring. _

He dodged spells left to right.

_I hate dodging._

He ducked and jumped bolts of light.

_I hate exams._

He jumped up, dodging a spell only to be hit squarely in the chest with another, this time a stunning spell. He hit the ground with a thud, knocked out.

* * *

"_Again."_

The voice echoed in his mind.

The colt groaned, lowering his head in disappointment. "Why?"

* * *

"This is not the time for another flashback, Nova." He said, stuck in the black room of his mind.

_You don't know that._

"I need to get back in the fight."

_And yet, here you are, knocked out once again._

"What will you show me this time?" He groaned as he sat down, facing the empty void.

_If you stop talking and pay attention, maybe you will figure that out._

* * *

"In order to learn magic, you must first learn how to control it." Twilight replied. Her voice echoed loudly in the room. He watched his younger self, trying to learn what was Nova telling him.

He hated that she was there. He hated that they were all watching him fail. He looked up at the unlit candle and forced himself to imagine that it was lit, holding his breath in the process. Alpha stood there, frozen, staring at the candle, trying to will it aflame.

Luna sighed. "Let's leave him to his lesson. Everypony back to work."

The others groaned as they left Beta and Alpha alone on their platform.

"_Again."_

"I'm trying." Alpha replied, taking in another breath.

"_Try harder."_

"Just because you had a natural ability doesn't mean I have one."

Beta growled. _"Either you learn magic or I'm leaving you." _

"You don't mean that."

Beta un-bonded with Alpha and appeared in front of him. He wasn't smiling nor frowning. _"Try me." _He said, angry.

"Fine." Alpha replied, taking another breath and holding it in, focusing his attention on the unlit candle at the end of the platform.

"_Try daydreaming."_

"How so?" Alpha replied, his eyes still glued to the candle.

"_I find that when I force the image into my mind, it never comes. Instead, try daydreaming that the candle was lit. Daydream aloud the details of the lit torch." _

"How do I do that?" He straightened his stance, his back and neck straight.

His world slowed as the memory resurfaced in his mind, playing back like it always did.

"_Here."_

Two candles, both lit appeared on either side of Alpha.

"_I'm going to try something that Tirek tried on me when I had trouble with magic. Close your eyes."_

The colt hesitantly closed his eyes, listening to the lit candles, his stance still rigid.

"_Relax." _

He relaxed. His neck bent forward a couple of degrees but otherwise his body was perfectly still.

"_What do you hear?" _

He could hear a lot of things; his heart beating, his breath exhaling and inhaling, the slight echo of ponies working, pushing trolleys and recruiting others to the cause. His ears flicked left and right, back and forth as they heard new noises, picking out the new from the old.

"_Alpha?"_

"I can hear my heart beating." He said slowly, trying not to lose track of what he could hear. "I can hear my voice, my breath."

"_What else?"_

His ears flicked towards the lit candles, picking up on the sound that they created.

"I can hear the torches."

"_How so?_"

His mouth twitched; his attention solely on the sound.

"I can hear the flame burning the oil."

"_How so?"_ Beta repeated.

"I can hear the oil bubbling."

"_What else can you hear? Try to tune out as much as possible." _

He focused on the candle. He thought, for a split second, that his head moved closer to his right.

"I can hear…the wick…crackling, almost like the fire I used to stare at in my cave so long ago." He became memorized with the sound, almost as if he was in a trance. His back bent upwards as he relaxed.

"_I'm going to remove the candles." _

Alpha's mouth began to move to complain, but Beta did not allow him. _"Don't speak just listen. I am going to remove the candles. When I do, I want you open your eyes and look at the candle and imagine, only imagine the sound of the wick aflame. If you understand, just nod your head." _

Alpha stood there, frozen, listening to the candles. After a few minutes, he nodded his head; certain he could remember the sounds of a candle aflame.

The sound of the candles disappeared as Beta extinguished them. Alpha could just make out the oil slowly ceasing to bubble, the wick still crackling before the candles disappeared entirely. He opened his eyes and focused on the small candle at the end of the hallway.

Nothing.

Beta brought the candle so it was just in front Alpha's face. _"Try again. Remember to remember the sounds." _

Instead of closing his eyes, Alpha leaned towards the candle, his eyes glued onto the white wick. He imagined the sounds of the candle aflame and waited. He watched with curiosity as the wick ever so slowly turned from white to black and began to slowly smoke before a small flame appeared in front of Alpha. It danced on the wick as if it was alive and happy to be alive. He could hear the oil begin to bubble and the wick crackle as the flame came to life.

"I did it!" He said, a grin forming on his face.

"_Congratulation, you lit a candle." _Beta said, smiling in amusement. _"Now, again."_ He continued, extinguishing the candle.

"But why?" Alpha asked, confused and saddened that his candle was put out.

"_You need to master what you know before you can move on. Again." _

Alpha sighed, but nodded happily, turning his attention to the candle.

* * *

The memory faded as Alpha came to his senses. He opened his eyes and looked at Beta, who was hovering above him.

"_That looked like it hurt. You okay?" _

Alpha nodded before rolling to his side. "Two months flew by fast." He pushed himself up and looked at Tirek.

"Done for the day?" Tirek asked.

The 18 year old colt shook his head. "Let's try one more time."

"If you say so. Remember, you are not trying to just dodge the spells, but evade them and get to me."

Alpha nodded, and shifted his stance. "Ready."

Tirek nodded as the sphere of multi-colored magic appeared. Bolt after bolt after bolt of magic flew out from the sphere, as if the sphere were an egg sack, and the bolts of magic were spider lings.

Alpha sprung forward. He sprinted to his right, then to his left, teleporting as he raced for Tirek. The ground broke into cracks as Tirek did what he could to stop the assaulting colt.

He took to the air, a risky move, but he knew he could gain more distance. He weaved through the bolts aimed to take his chance at passing, and, once above Tirek, dived down. He knew using magic against Tirek would only make him stronger for he would absorb the magic, so instead, he turned to physical attacks. He sliced into the red skin with his metallic wing, easily cutting through. He teleported to the ceiling and was about to defeat Tirek if he had not been hit with a bolt of white light.

The lifeless body of the 18 year old colt fell through the air, his metallic limb glowing red. Not even halfway to the ground, Tirek stopped what he was doing and healed his cuts with his right hand, wiping across them, as if he was cleaning his arm of dirt. With his left hand, he caught Alpha, cradling the lifeless body in his palm.

Twilight stepped onto the platform, grinning.

"_WE TRUSTED YOU!"_

Twilight sneered. "I am not who I say I am, Beta."

Beta looked at Tirek, who nodded in agreement. He smiled as he disappeared. Twilight was only halfway across the platform when Beta appeared, stopping him in his tracks. A curtain of magic appeared behind Beta as he forced her to stop.

"Just step aside, Beta."

"_Fuck off, Twilight." _Beta said. He opened his mouth and small flame came within. Breathing fire, Beta unleashed what seemed to be a whip of fire. _"You have already done enough here."_

"How come you can use magic as a spirit?"

"_I'm a mutant. We mutants aren't bound to the laws of nature that normal ponies are. We have a set of our own rules, and therefore, we have special abilities. " _

With a swipe of his hoof, the whip transformed into the eight legged creature Beta had grown to love. Twilight looked past the legs of the gigantic spider of fire to see Beta grinning. She felt the hair on her neck stand up.

"_Scared?"_

* * *

Spike had noticed Twilight's disappearance and had ran to his room to see if she was there, but instead was drawn to the crowd that was blocking the Training Room. He pushed his way towards the front of the crowd to see his friend attack Alpha, who was fighting Tirek. He was about to run towards her when a hoof stopped him. He looked up to see Charlie staring at Alpha.

"Why did you stop me?"

"Because that isn't Twilight."

He turned to look at Twilight, who was fighting off the spider. "What do you mean "That isn't Twilight."? Of course it's Twilight!"

"No it isn't!" Charlie argued.

"Who is it then?!"

"_That is Zeta and Gamma." _

"Who?"

"_Celestia's personal assassin."_


	36. Chapter 34

Part 2: Chapter 14: The Metallic Wing

The tomb opened.

* * *

Delta and Spike, along with the rest of those who took refuge in the mountain, stood watching, frozen with awe and fear.

Tirek, holding the lifeless body of the 18 year old colt, was in a defensive stance. A curtain of magic shielded Tirek and the body from the attacker and Beta. The ghost's head was bowed down, its eyes glowing blood-red. For a moment, Beta seemed to be alive, no longer a ghost. He wasn't floating and he casted his own shadow from the flaming arachnid standing above him.

"_We know who you are, Zeta. No need to hide anymore." _Beta's voice sounded like thunder with the ground vibrating.

Twilight glanced at Spike before looking back at Beta, her skin disappearing, revealing the assailant who used her as a disguise. The flaming Arachnid looked at its small reflection on the polished armor. It looked new, as if it was a Mark II version of the original suit. It had two small openings at the middle of the helmet for the eyes and the muzzle was actually two parts, letting the wearer speak without issue and breathe normally. Its left eye was glowing neon purple, while the other was neon green. Free of its disguise, the suit flickered on, glowing neon purple, outlining where the metal overlapped itself.

Zeta relaxed her stance. "Relax Beta; he was going to die sooner or later, better now than later, to be honest."

Delta felt somepony move next to him on his left and looked up to see Chrysalis and Luna.

"What happened?" Chrysalis asked.

"_Twilight was actually Zeta and Gamma in disguise. Turns out the she was working for Celestia as she apparently killed Alpha just now." _

The two Alicorns looked down at Delta.

"Where is Alpha's body?" Luna questioned almost instinctively.

"_Tirek's holding him."_ Delta replied, nodding towards Tirek.

"Delta?" Luna replied.

"_Yes?"_

"Where is Charlie?"

"_Knocked out." _

"Why?"

"_I knocked him out when Alpha was seemingly killed. He's already going through a hard time. I don't want it to get any worse." _Delta turned his attention on Beta.

His upper body was slowly moving up and down, as if to a beat. The chest was moving in and out slowly.

"Beta, just relax. If you need to know, he was one hell of a target to kill, probably my hardest yet."

The arachnid continued to stare at Zeta but had begun tap the ground with its massive legs.

"_Zeta, don't talk or move unless you need to. If you do, move slowly, don't make ANY sudden movements."_ Gamma spoke slowly.

"Why?" Zeta replied back, oblivious to the danger she was in.

"_Though Arachnids are blind in general, they are extremely sensitive to vibrations." _

Small blazing spiderlings began to appear, all weaving webs of fire.

Zeta looked up and saw the whole ceiling in a flurry of movement. She looked back down to see spiders constructing what seemed to be a network of lines of fire. One headed towards Zeta. Zeta moved as slowly as she could possibly move in order to evade the spider. The spiderling, oblivious to Zeta, phased through her as it continued to work with its brothers and sisters.

The room was alive with movement and the sounds of continuous tapping as the spiders, all working in unison with lines of fire trailing behind them, covered the room. She watched with curiosity and horror as the animals worked on. Zeta heard a sound behind her and began to lift her left front hoof to turn around.

Her left hoof hit the ground and with it, all movement and sound ceased almost instantly. The ground beneath her shook lightly once. Zeta quickly turned her head to see the main spider begin to tap its leg on the floor slowly.

There was no sound but the crackling of the fire coming from the spiders. Both Zeta's and Gamma's minds were blank. Neither was thinking, both were focusing solely on the spider that Beta had created. One by one, the spiderlings began to die out, slowly extinguishing. The Room, once lit as bright as if it was in daylight, was now swallowed by a dark hue. This is when Delta moved slowly into the room and examined the lines of fire.

It wasn't actually a thick line, but it was a thin strand that was strained tightly. He moved his hoof towards the strand.

"Delta!" Luna whispered as loud as she could. "Don't!"

Delta glanced at Luna before looking back at the strand and moved his hoof through it. His hoof passed through it as if it was smoke. He felt neither heat nor pain but watched as the strand vibrated, humming a low E chord doing so. Delta's eyes followed the strand to its start. His eyes ended at Beta's spider. He also saw something enter the curtain for a second before it disappeared

_The spiderlings had created a web. _

Beta's head turned to look at Delta and gestured him to come closer, nodding his head to the space next to him. Delta slowly picked his way through the web, making sure not to touch the strands. He was 1/3rd of the way there when the Arachnid moved one of its legs onto one of the strands and steadied it. The pony looked up to see Beta no longer looking at him.

Zeta's heart froze. She had begun to navigate through the labyrinth when Beta turned his attention to Delta. Taking this chance as the only one she would get, Zeta and Gamma, with surprising agility and precision, made her way through the web. However, when Delta caught up with her, she had accidently plucked one of the strands with her right hind leg. Both the spider and Beta turned to face her direction.

Delta looked at the strand to his left and plucked it. The spider, without turning to face him, placed one of its left legs on the strand and steadied it before placing the leg back on the ground again.

"_Right, looks like he knows I'm over here." _ Delta muttered before proceeding to make his way to Beta.

Zeta, out of the corner of her eye, saw Delta move towards Beta.

"_We cannot allow him to get to Beta." _Gamma spoke softly.

The metallic muzzle nodded in agreement. "With Delta on one side, and me on the other; if two strands are touched, Beta will probably ignore it, right?" Zeta whispered as she advanced.

"_I'd agree, but I don't want to test that out."_

"_Shut up D, We weren't talking to you." _Gamma replied.

"_And as much as you want your pay for killing both, if you don't listen to me, you won't get paid."_ Delta's voice bounced off the walls.

"_How do you know he can't hear you, dumbass?"_

"_Beta won't kill me for trying to help you, and considering what he just did," _Delta explained, ignoring the insult. His hoof pointed to the web and the Arachnid who was now beginning to explore its new instrument. _"He is way too angry and filled with rage to hear us." _

"_If I were you Delta,"_ Beta's voice rang out, echoing in the room. _"I'd take that back right now." _

"_It wasn't an insult, Beta. You know that." _

"_Why are you trying to help her?" _

"_This 'her' has a name, by the way."_ Gamma's voice rang out. The Arachnid was upon Zeta in a number of nanoseconds, its pinchers just inches away from the metallic muzzle.

"_She's my sister." _

"_So? You led her to me, remember? You saw my pain and wanted to help not only me or you but the others who were being hurt by her." _

Gamma gasped loudly. _"YOU DID WHAT?! AFTER I'M DONE WITH BETA, I'M GOING AFTER YOU NEXT." _

Beta growled at Zeta. He lifted his right hoof up and swiped it downwards. With the permission granted, the arachnid attacked Zeta, ruthless beating her up, throwing her around, and cocooning her in threads of fire.

"_BETA!"_ Delta screamed out. Several orbs of light came from Delta, turning into kings and queens. Sombra, already out and formed, ran for Beta.

Beta grinned, standing on his hind legs, and waited. Sombra galloped towards Beta but stopped when he held up a hoof.

"_Think what you are about to do. Remember that I am a MUTANT. I am not bound to the laws of nature, and as such I am allowed to have certain privileges that Kings, Queens, Princesses, Princes, Changeling, or normal pony don't have. I, not only can kill the living, I can kill the dead. The dead will NOT return in ghost form. They will not be sent into the afterlife, but to oblivion." _

Sombra stood there, glaring at Beta. He did not doubt Beta. Delta did. He galloped through Sombra and tackled the semi-ghost/semi-entity to the ground, placing his leg on Beta's neck. _"You stop this right now. This isn't what Alpha wanted."_

Beta reached over and grabbed Delta's leg and twisted it, spraining the leg. Delta cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. Beta got up and stood over Delta. _"How do you know what he would have wanted? You betray me by helping her."_ Beta said, pointing his hoof at Zeta, who was fighting off the arachnid with spells. _"You betray me by helping the bully, Delta." _Beta stood there, staring down at what could either be friend or foe to him. Delta watched as his _foe_'s pupils began to return. _"And you know what I do to traitors." _

"_Beta…"_ Delta began to speak nervously. _"Remember, this isn't my body."_

"_It doesn't matter." _

"_Yes it does. The Mutant Charlie is a victim."_

"_I don't really care." _

"_What do you care about?" _

"_I cared about Alpha." _Beta's pupils were nearly back to normal size, but his face showed a flurry of emotions. He turned away. _"And every time I cared for somepony, they end up dying." _

The spider let out a high pitch squeal as its legs were torn off one by one. Having only four legs left, the injured spider began to retreat back to Beta, with its murderer following behind; cloaked.

"_Now Beta, we both know you can't think like that!" _Delta replied, no longer scared for his and Charlie's life but for Beta's. _"You know exactly what that will do to you!"_

Beta looked up and watched with defeat as his guardian cried for help as it retreated, defeated and injured horribly. The spider, only having two legs on both sides, crawled towards Beta. Its dismembered legs had turned into ash, the web slowly burning out. It came to a stop before its master, its legs at the hooves of his legs. It stayed there for a few minutes, writhing in pain, before it stopped moving all together, the flames dying out.

"_You know, there is a spell that kills spirits. And only mutants can use it." _

Beta heard the voice behind him and nodded. _"Just get it over with." _He looked at the destruction he caused and looked at Delta. He felt the depression fill him as he realized what he had done, how he had acted on his rage and nearly killed a close friend.

Delta was lying on the floor, unable to get up due to his sprained leg.

Zeta uncloaked, her forehead glowing white and red. Beta closed his eyes, took a deep breath and embraced death. He wished to be laid to rest this time, not made into a ghost like the last time he died.

The bolt was released, aimed at Beta's neck. It gave off a glow of both red and white, and whistled a high pitch as it flew through the air.

The bolt hit the metallic wing with a loud _clink, instead of its original target. _


	37. Chapter 35

YAY! 80,000 Total Words!

Part 2: Chapter 15:

Beta turned around, his eyes following the _Dragon Metal_ wing he had made seven years ago. The wing was connected with another suit of armor. This time however, it wasn't polished and looked as if it was in bad condition.

It was covered with dents and scratches, the glow that outlined where metal overlapped metal was unmistakably Galaxy Blue and the eye sockets revealed two brown, unblinking eyes. The mane of the wearer was glowing blue and pulsating heavily, emitting its own light, which lit up the metallic helmet. The muzzle, unlike Zeta's, was composed up of more than twenty parts, allowing any and all movement of the muzzle. It was, however, open and blood foamed at the right side of its mouth.

It was staring at the dead assassin's body that was on the ground, covered in its own blood.

Delta walked over next to Beta and looked down at the body, examining it. Beta was staring at his savior, who was wearing a full suit of _Estefania._

"_Alpha?" _

"Mhm?" The head of the suit looked up at Beta.

"_How the fuck did you survive?" _

Alpha raised his metallic brace, still glowing from the initial bolt. "My wing was hit, not my chest. It absorbed the spell quite nicely."

"_Sorry to interrupt this nice reunion, but she isn't dead yet." _Delta spoke, his voice stern and annoyed.

"_You sound like you want me to be dead." _Gamma's voice sounded distorted, as in it came from a shitty radio in History, Section: HUMAN.

"_Would it surprise you that I don't like you?" _ Delta asked.

"_I'm your sister." _

"_You WERE my sister. We are no longer siblings." _

"_Since when?" _

"_Since you tried to assassinate my friend." _Delta lifted his hoof to smash Zeta's skull but thought better and stepped aside, letting Beta's Arachnid feed on her. Zeta was numb from the pain of Alpha's beat down that she didn't struggle, she let it happen freely. He walked away from Zeta and his sister to Alpha and Beta, who had ignored the downed Assassin and walked a couple of meters away.

* * *

"_I will admit,"_ Beta began. _"I thought I'd never see it again." _

"What do you mean? Zeta wore it." Alpha replied.

"_Zeta wore a modified version, but this," _Beta said, looking over the suit of ancient armor, smiling. _"I was around, albeit insanely weak, when somepony started to remake my suit." _

"Celestia?"

"_Not Celestia, but another Mutant." _

"Who?"

Beta glanced at Delta who smiled back. _"Was it him that did it?" _

Delta grinned and nodded. _"He always had a way with metal." _

Beta chuckled in disbelief. _"How the hell did he do it?"_

"_He salvaged what Celestia didn't get of the armor and tested it; accidently finding out that it was steel and dark magic in the process." _

"_I can see that, but how did he recreate it?!" _

Delta was about to respond to Beta when he glanced at Alpha. He was examining the suit. Parts of metal dislodged and were floating around him as he disassembled the suit of armor.

"_What?"_ Beta asked, wanting to know how the mutant did nodded to Alpha. Beta turned to look at Alpha and chuckled. _"Nah, he isn't him."_

"_How sure are you about that?"_

"_A dead mutant cannot come back to life, Delta, they can only bond with living organisms." _

"_He could."_ Delta responded, putting emphasis on 'he'.

Beta looked at Alpha, who was now staring at the armor, his metallic brace in the center of his vision, being disassembled for the first time. Beta began to shake his head. _"No. No! I know Alpha, he isn't him!" _

"_How much would you bet on it?"_

Beta bit his lip and looked down.

"_That's what I thought." _Delta replied, walking to Alpha.

"_My magic."_

Delta froze. _"What?"_

"_I bet my magic, all of it, that Alpha ISN'T him."_

"_That's one hell of a bet, and you know the rules of Mutant Betting, do you not?"_

"_I know the risk, I know the rules. You know me, I wouldn't bet on my magic if I didn't have a damn good reason." _

"_But what if he is him?!" _

"_So what? If he is who we think he is, then nothing bad will happen, Delta! If he is him, then he can help. If he isn't, then Alpha can still help!" _

Delta inhaled to argue but stopped himself and exhaled.

Beta examined Delta. _"What?" _

"_Nothing." _Delta lied.

Beta leaned closer to Delta's face, examining him closely.

"_What?" _Delta asked, nervously.

Beta was quiet for a full minute, examining Delta's glowing blue eyes as if he saw something… _"You're lying." _

The urge to argue against Beta was terrifyingly strong, but Delta knew he had been caught.

"_What aren't you telling me?"_ Beta asked slowly.

"_You, Gamma, and I aren't the only mutants that have survived and bonded with other mutants."_

* * *

Although Alpha was listening in on the conversation (his right ear flicking towards the two every now and then), he was more focused on the suit and how it worked.

He had to admit, although it look like a normal suit of armor that glowed the same color as the wearer's favorite color, it was one hell of a suit.

The suit felt like a regular old suit of armor; all heavy and made of metal, but it was much more. He couldn't describe it; couldn't find the right word to describe the feeling he had using it. His metallic brace was just a replacement for his missing limb. It was originally created as a frame to just help him cope losing a limb to a shitty reason. But although with the wing he felt complete, the _wing_ didn't.

Ever since he wore the wing for the first time, it felt like it wasn't just a brace.

It always seemed to be alive. It would change to adapt to the environment that Alpha was in. If he was at the factory, it would hone itself to cut through the densestof metal. If he was flying, it would be aerodynamic; smooth, light but wind resistant. If he was sleeping, it would dull each tip of its metallic feathers to the point of where it couldn't pierce Alpha's side just in case if he left it on at night.

It always seemed _alive_. _  
_

* * *

"_You and I both know that for a spirit like us to interact with the living, we have to bond with a living organism to create the actual bond. The only reason you can see me now is that the bond between me and Alpha is still connected." _Beta explained.

"_I know how to bond, Beta. If you can't already tell," _Delta waved Charlie's hoofs in the air. _"I'm already bonded to another mutant." _

"_So who made it through?" _

"_Not many. Several of your bullies came through, all are terrified of you." _

"_I wonder why."_ Beta sarcastically remarked. _"It's not like I tortured the shit outta them before slowly killing them."_

"_Do you…Do you forgive any of them?" _

He sighed. _"When I think about it, I do forgive them. I see now that they were just trying to save their own lives, fit in with society as it was. I doubt they would forgive me though." _He paused for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts. His glowing semi-transparent eyes dashed left and right, up and down, as he tried to explain his emotions and reasons as clearly as possible. _"Can I understand why they did it? Yes, I can. Do I want to understand? I did when I was alive and young. It's funny. This whole battle, this whole war against Celestia is only based off emotion and what we believed when we were young. The reason why I am against Celestia is because no pony else wanting to go against her. I was never afraid of Celestia, never afraid of the consequence, never afraid of the fear that most felt when the thought of rebalance came into mind." _When Delta didn't respond, Beta looked up to see Delta staring at him, his eyes wide, his head tilted slightly to the right. _"What?" _

"_You totally went off topic there, like seriously off-fucking-topic." _Delta replied with a straight face.

"_Sorry." _Beta apologized, his face red. _"So, who else besides my old enemies made it through?" _

Delta looked up as he tried to remember who stayed and who were allowed to go. _" 'ts hard to say. I see some floating around, others wandering amid the debris of battles at the Factory." _

Beta was looking at Alpha, frowning. _"Delta?" _He asked, his voice quivered with worry.

"_Mhm?" _Delta responded, his eyes half-way open.

"_I know I ruined a shit-load of lives, but-"_

"Sorry to interrupt here," Alpha said. "But how the hell do you take off this helmet?" He was covered in the suit of armor, and seemed to be having a hard time breathing.

Beta snapped out of his worry and chuckled. _"Getting claustrophobic?" _

The helmeted head nodded quickly.

Beta laughed out loud as he reached for the helmet. _"The seal is underneath the Muzzle Guard, at the center." _

Alpha searched for the release guard. Once he found it, he frantically pushed the button and tore off the helmet, gasping for air, collapsing onto the ground in the process. "You can't breathe in that damn thing." The 18 year old colt was sweating vigorously; beads of sweat covered his face. He looked up at Delta. "Is Charlie awake?"

"_Not yet. I knocked him out when you were seemingly killed." _

"Smart thinking." Alpha replied, not even trying to get up.

"_So, how are you liking my suit?"_ Beta asked with a smile.

Alpha chuckled, closing his eyes. "It's one hell of a suit. Is there a way to take it all off?"

Beta waved his hoof to the right. The suit, recognizing the command, automatically fell apart, freeing Alpha.

"How the hell did you create it in the first place?"

Beta disappeared as he bonded back with Alpha. _"I didn't do it alone." _He was about to take over when Alpha asked one last thing.

"Can i change the subject for a quick second?"

Beta nodded.

"Did I pass?"

"_Pass what?" _ Delta and Beta said in unison.

"The Exam."

"I think we all know the answer to that." Tirek replied, walking up behind Beta and Delta.

* * *

As Delta and Tirek walked off to their rooms, Beta extinguished his Arachnid guardian and stood above Zeta and Gamma, both hanging on to their last strands of life. With Alpha asleep, Delta and Tirek gone, he could actually speak with them. He knelt down to the fallen enemy and nudged the body.

"_I am dying here, at least let me die in peace." _Gamma groaned softly.

"_I will once I get both of your opinions." _

"_Zeta's dead. I'm the only one here." _

"_Then I will allow you to die in peace after I get your opinion." _

Gamma took a breath and sighed. _"What do you want?" _

"_I want to know your opinion." _

"_On what?" _

"_Should I allow Celestia to live?"_


	38. Chapter 36

Part 2: Chapter 16: A Chat With a Ghost

The colt thrashed around in his bed, in obvious pain.

* * *

"_Having their Parents abandon them should not be punished by death, let alone brutally tortured and killed slowly._"

The quote, the sound of his own young high pitched voice, painfully echoed in the blank room that he was confined in.

"No!" He screamed out into the blackness of his mind.

_"Are you the one they call 'Alpha'?"  
"Y...Yes, that is me. Is...Is there something wrong?"  
"Come with us."_

"No! No! Stop! Run! Run away! Don't listen to them!" The mutant screamed to his younger self, oblivious that what he was experiencing was a memory flashback. In the real world, his brace was open, and was shredding the bed.

* * *

He heard the squeak of the valve opening, the sound of gas rushing out of small nozzle and felt the pain sear through his wing. Screaming violently, Alpha woke up from the hellish nightmare, sweating and breathing heavily. He looked to his right to see Beta, his semi-transparent friend, dead but still very much alive, sitting on the ground, looking at something below him. Alpha followed his gaze and looked below himself to find the mattress ripped up and torn to ribbons of cloth and fabric. He growled as he glanced at his brace; feathers were impaled upon their metallic counterparts.

"Fuck." Alpha muttered, annoyed.

"_Bad dream?"_

The pegasi huffed in both agreement and disapproval. "The same type of dreams I get every damn time I try to grab some shuteye." He shook his head. "Each one is always about the same damn subject." He pushed himself off his destroyed bed, turned around and imagined it repaired. He felt the feathers being pulled off his wing, he heard the sound of fabric and cloth sown back together as the spell repaired the bed. "Don't you ever sleep?" He asked.

"_I'm a ghost, a spirit. Why should I need sleep?" _

"Can you sleep?"

"_Do you want me to light the torch?" _

"Isn't it already lit?"

"_No."_

Alpha turned his head and looked up at the torch. It wasn't aflame, wasn't lighting up the room. He looked at the door to see it closed.

"_Too much, isn't it?"_

"I'll get used to it." Alpha replied, in total darkness.

The two sat there, in total darkness, listening. Both could hear the single heart beating, the breath that followed the living, and the occasional sound of a pony swallowing its own spit. Total silence filled the room.

"Beta?"

"_Mhm?"_

"Who were you and Delta talking about earlier? Who was the mutant that you thought recreated your armor?"

"_Her name was Jade." _

"But you and Delta said 'he'."

"_Delta and I weren't the only ones to call Jade a colt, she acted like a colt. She even fooled me into thinking that she was a colt when I first met her. She was a mutant, like the rest of us, but she had this way with anything metallic."_

"How so?"

"_She was the first to actually CREATE a welding torch, she learned what gasses give off the highest temperature and how to 'catch' them, per se. In school, she made a flower out of a couple of paperclips and staples. Now I'm not talking of the bullshit roses they teach colts and fillies to draw with their own hooves, I'm talking about a full grown rose, red petals, green stem with thorn and everything. With just a few chrome paperclips and some staples, she created a RED rose with a green stem." _

"What happened?"

"_Well, after my 'incident', it seems like she joined Delta against Celestia. She salvaged what she could of my armor after I was defeated and destroyed. She then, apparently, created my armor, adding some improvements onto it." _Beta explained, staring into the darkness, watching the bright lights and kaleidoscopic movements his eyes created when he stared into nothing but blackness or when he tried to focus if he closed his eyes.

Alpha looked to his left to see the ghost. Hesitantly, he reached out his left hoof and tried to _touch_ Beta, but failed when his hoof passed through him. Not willing to give up so easily, Alpha tried and tried again, each time more focused, more determined to touch his friend, but every time failing and failing and failing. Each time his hoof fazed through the ghost, he felt more and more alone; more isolated; more alienated.

"_You know you will not be able to touch me, right?" _Beta spoke out without turning his head.

"I must try."

Beta sighed and shook his head in disagreement.

"What's wrong?"

"_The feeling you get when you can't touch me; the feeling of absolute isolation; the feeling of hope escaping, I can remember it all too well." _

"Then stop staring into the blackness and help me!"

Beta turned to look at Alpha, his eyes slightly glowing. _"The only way we can come into contact is if I bond with you."_ He gave a dissatisfied smirk to his friend. _"Go back to sleep. I'll wake you early in the morning to create the plan." _

Alpha sighed before standing up and getting into his bed.

"_Take off your wing first!"_

He heard the wing hit the ground and smiled. _"Thank you."_

"Night." Alpha said before finally nodding off.

"_G'Night."_

* * *

Although the ghost said goodnight, resting was the last thing on his mind. He just sat there, watching the miniature explosions and fireworks he set off with his magic, smiling when he became amused. He sighed as the emotion left. Wanting to end his boredom, the young ghost got up and left the room, exploring the magnificent mountain's interior.

Beta never needed to actually sleep. Being dead has its ups and downs, and Beta would consider the loss of needing to sleep to be both. As much as he loved staying up at night when everything became quiet, he often found himself bored; very bored. Exploring his own tomb and teleporting himself to other cities just to screw around with the living became his two most favorite past times.

Thanks to a number of random occasions, Beta had repaired his relationship with the infamous Vinyl Scratch. She sees him as the friendly ghost she heard about in stories, and laughs when he scares others. Octavia does NOT like Beta, but she doesn't mind him either. If he isn't bothering her, she doesn't really care and ignores him.

In the rare times when Alpha sleeps in, Beta would usually teleport to the schools, specifically the high school he went to, just to check up on it. If he sees bullying, he usually slowly appears and disappears behind the bullied, scaring off the bullies. When that doesn't work, he will begin to defend the bullied, colt or mare, until the bully runs off. He caught himself recently watching over Scootaloo, who has somehow not gained her cutie mark. Scoot and her two friends know this and her confidence has risen dramatically since she found out that Beta watches over her.

But something has been…gnawing at him, and it's starting to get on his nerves.

Once he made sure that he was alone in his tomb, he went over to one of the stands that contained his armor and examined it.

"_Still my version…" _He muttered to himself.

"What are you doing up this late?"

Beta turned around to see Charlie awake, his eyes brown. _"Is Delta not awake?"_

"He is, but doesn't want to talk right now. What are you doing?"

"_Examining my armor."_

"What happened?"

"_Meaning?"_

"Yesterday, Delta knocked me out and he won't tell me what I missed."

Beta smiled. _"Long story short, Twilight Sparkle turned out to be Zeta and Gamma. They tried to Assassinate Alpha. As he was down, I turned into my usual self and tried to protect him from anypony; Zeta and you." _

Charlie's eyes widened. "What happened?"

"_Apparently my tomb opened and a suit had sprung out when it sensed that I was in danger. Instead, it protected and shielded Alpha, somehow knowing that I didn't need help."_

"How did that happen?"

"_I do not know. That's why I am here to find out." _ Beta slowly disappeared.

"Beta?"

"_One Moment." _

The suit Charlie stood in front of came to life, glowing red as Beta took control of it. _"Did not realize I could control it.."_

"What do you mean?"

"_I created the suit to protect me when I was still alive, when I have a body. Right now, I am a spirit, a ghost, and yet…" _

"You can still take control of the suit." Charlie interrupted, completing Beta's thought.

"_Exactly." _Beta replied, expanding and contracting the knife-like wings.

Charlie looked over the metal. "What is it made of?"

"_Dark metal combined with steel."_

"Can you create other types of metal?"

"_Currently, because magic is, in its basic form, electricity, Steel conducts electricity the most of any other metal." _

Charlie nodded as he tried to understand what Beta just said.

"_You have no idea what I just told you, do you?"_ The metallic helmet looked down at Charlie.

"Not really."

"_Steel is stronger." _

"Ok. What's it like to be dead?"

"_Truth be told, it's boring as hell." _

The metallic suit walked with absolute silence and grace. The wings were opening and closing, the flaps were moving, everything was in motion as Beta did a complete checkup on everything. Halfway through, he heard a sigh and looked behind him. Charlie had his head lowered with his eyes closed.

"_What's wrong?"_

"Hmm?"

"_What's wrong?"_

"Nothing…"

Charlie looked up to see that suit looking back at him, his head tilted to the side. "What?"

"_What's wrong?" _

"Worried."

"_About?"_

Charlie's cheeks reddened. "Alpha."

Beta was not surprised by this answer. He knew Alpha and Charlie were dating. _"Why?"_

"Don't know. Do you think he will win?"

"_Win? Win what?"_

"The battle."

"_What battle?"_

"Seriously?" Charlie asked in disbelief. "What Battle?"

"_Yeah," _Beta replied calmly. _"What battle?"_

"The battle he will have against Celestia."

"_If he dies, he'll turn into a ghost like me. Same thing will happen to you and all other mutants that die. We all become ghosts."_

"Why?"

Beta sighed._ "Technically, we aren't naturally right. All laws of nature that we are aware of don't work with us. For example, I'm an earth pony but I could use magic. Alpha's a Pegasus but can currently also use magic. The laws of nature don't apply to us; therefore we don't go by the rules essentially."_

"Meaning?"

"_Meaning that the laws that every living organism goes by now do not apply to us Mutants. We are different in every way." _

"I don't want to be different."

"_Why not?"_

"No offense, but if I could change, I would change into a normal earth pony."

Inside the helmet, Beta smiled.

"_Why?"_

"Too much drama in being a mutant. Everypony doesn't trust you and doesn't like you, they have no idea what you can do, but how should that mean we know what we can and cannot do?" He sighed and sat down. "You see it as a gift, I see it as a punishment."

Beta walked back to the armor stand and placed the suit on it before appearing in front of Charlie. _"I saw it as a punishment like you before." _

"How so?"

"_The basic, basic reason why everypony knows who I am is because I was bullied for being different. And I saw it as a punishment. I didn't understand why I was being hated, but in the end, I grew liking it, because it was the only thing that made me feel special, it gave me a reason to believe why I was being hated so much. I used to think I was-"_

"I know, I know." Charlie interrupted, annoyed. "Delta already gave me this speech before."

"_So, changing subject, what's your ability?"_

"Huh?"

"_What can you do?"_

"Nothing, I have no mutant ability."

"_The reason ghosts can only bond with ponies is if they are mutants, otherwise they cannot bond to them. If D bond with you, it's because you are a mutant."_

"I'm changing subject because im not liking this one."

"_Then I'm keeping it on this one." _

"Why?"

"_Whether you like it or not, you, Charlie, are a mutant. You cannot, as much as you wish, change this." _

"I bet I can change."

"_I'm nine fucking hundred years old. I've been trying for nine hundred years. If there was a way, I would have found it." _

"You hate me, don't you?"

That caught Beta off guard.

"_What?"_

"You hate me now."

"_Why would I hate you?"_

"Because you are angry at me."

"_If I hated you, you would not be alive." _

"What about Alpha?"

"_What about him?"_

"Would it hurt him?"

"_Obviously, the colt cares for you like no other pony I have ever seen." _

"So why doesn't he spend time with me?"

Beta chuckled. _"Because currently, we are trying to defeat the Princess of Equestria. Just because he doesn't spend time with you doesn't mean he doesn't lov-"_ Beta stopped mid-sentence as he caught himself.

Charlie had heard and his wings instantly opened. "He doesn't what?"

Beta shook his head, his eyes wide as he realized what he just had let out. _"Shitshitshitshitshitshit." _

"What? He loves me?"

Beta knew he had lost and gave up. He let out a sigh and nodded.

"He does?!" Charlie excitedly asked.

Beta slightly looked up, his eyes glowing. _"Currently, that's what I think he does."_

"Think?"

He nodded._ "Unlike you or I, Alpha has never actually been in love. He doesn't know the feeling of love or what it is. He feels attached to you, but to my knowledge, yes, he is in love. Remember that I don't search his mind when he is either sleeping or awake so your guess is as good as mine."_

Charlie's heart was racing as he processed the information he had just been given.

"For fuck's sake, you guys are loud." Luna's voice pierced the silence as she entered the tomb. She took one glance at Charlie before staring at Beta. "What did you tell him?"

Beta smiled. _"Nothing."_

"I think you suck more at lying than my sister."

"_He knows."_

"About what?"

"He likes me…" Charlie's whisper answered Luna.

All emotion but utter disbelief drained from her face. "Seriously? Of all things you could have said, you let that out?! He's gonna be embarrassed like never before in his life!"

"_He already knew that Charlie knew about it!"_

"Since when?!"

"_THEY ARE DATING!"_

"Yeah, but now he actually knows."

Charlie's wings were now pulsating.

"_Charlie, chill out." _

"But why!?"

"_Because you will detonate your heart at the speed it's at." _

"Ponies hearts cant detonate."

"_Yes they can." _

"Prove it."

Beta stared at Charlie.

"Riight. Forgot 'bout that. What did it look like?"

"_The pony screamed then his chest literally exploded. It was quite entertaining really." _

"That never happened." Luna objected.

"_I have the memory here if you want to see it."_

"Show me."

Beta sighed as he disappeared, bonding briefly with luna.

Charlie watched as Luna closed her eyes and her expression change as she witnessed the pony's chest explode in a shower of blood, ribs, guts, and bones.

"HOLY SHIT." She cried out, shutting her eyes closed and forcing Beta out.

"_When I talk about death, I don't joke around. I pretty much have explored every way to die." _

"What's the worst?" Charlie asked.

"_hmm…" _

As beta thought, Luna decided it was time for the two to go to bed.

"But I wanna know which one was the worst."

"_Either Death by one's own Horn Impalement or liquefaction."_

"You can liquefy ponies?"

"_I can do a lot of things when I'm bat-shit angry." _

"OK, enough." Luna exclaimed. "BED. BOTH OF YOU."

"Aww…"Charlie said as he slowly made his way to his room.

"You too Beta."

"_I don't sleep."_

"I don't care, go to your room."

Beta was about to obey her but thought it would be more interesting to deny her. _"What if I say no?"_

"I will DRAG you to your room."

"_I'm a ghost, you can't grab me."_

Luna took a deep breath, extended her hoof and grabbed Beta, actually taking hold of him.

"_How the fuck are you doing this?!"_ Beta exclaimed as he resisted Luna.

"I'm a fucking Alicorn and an element of planetary beings. I have exceptions too, you know. C'mon." She said as she began to drag Beta to his room.

"_Fine, fine, I'll go."_

"As a 900 year old ghost, you sure act as if you were 12, even if you died at 18."

"_How do you know that?"_

Luna turned her head and for a brief second, turned into her darker self. "I was with you at the castle, don't you remember."

"_I remember that, I just thought that that was your dark magic, not actually you." _

"It was. When I returned, I connected with the magic and saw what you did. Anyway," She changed the subject as she threw Beta through the wall into his room. "STAY THERE."

Beta turned and saw Alpha sleeping. He thought about listening to Luna but pushed the idea out of her head and teleported himself to his high school. He was gonna screw around with the teachers arriving at the school. Something he always loved doing.

* * *

HAHA! Finally got past my Writer's Block. Damn thing was pissing me off. Anyway, Happy Holidays!


	39. Chapter 37

Part 2: Chapter 17: One Hoof at a Time

The ghost watched with an amused grin the orange mare with the backpack enter the school with her friends. He watched, when he could, all of the ponies that were hurt by others. If the ghost found a bully, he would make sure that they would stop, but he wouldn't use lethal ways to do so. He knew exactly what effect the tales of his life had on students, no matter what the age is. His mane was red, and his eyes glowed in a darker hue.

He sat on a corner of a column, invisible to living, with a full view of all ponies. He unfocused his eyes and waited for movement, but not just any movement. A push, a shove, a punch, anything that was physically done purposely to hurt another did not go unnoticed. His ears twitched left and right as he sifted through the chatter, sifting through the chatter for any verbal insults. But he wasn't alone. Another ghost sat by him, his ears twitching, his eyes unfocused, waiting for movement. His mane was black-turning blue, his eyes glowing galaxy-blue. The two friends from long ago watched over their school like an owl searching for prey.

"_Catch anything?" _Beta asked

"_Not yet." _

"_Can mutants get cutie marks?"_

"_Aren't Cutie Marks obtained when a pony discovers what they are naturally good at?" _Delta questioned, still focusing on the crowd below which was still growing in number as more ponies came to school.

"_Yeah."_

"_Then I don't….think so. We aren't normal, in the nature sense."_

"_Why not?"_

"_We have more than one ability than others. We can use magic even though we are Earth Ponies."_

"_Were Earth ponies."_ Beta corrected.

"_We still are Earth Ponies, just dead."_

"_I don't think we are still classified as Earth ponies."_

Delta groaned. Beta jumped down from the column and made his way to the west part of the school as the bell began to ring.

"_Where are you going?"_ Delta asked.

"_History class; I'm going to see if I can find more information on Cutie Marks and their origins." _Beta replied, walking through ponies. Delta nodded his head and followed.

"All right Class, Listen up!" The teacher said as she quieted the class. "Today we will be learning about a legend that began in these school centuries ago, and the real story behind the mutant."

_Real story my ass._ Scootaloo scowled. The only thing she hated more than History class were lies, especial about those that she knew personally.

"SNAILS! WAKE UP! Don't let me catch you sleeping or else!" The teacher yelled, a yardstick rising behind her.

Snails woke with a start and looked at the teacher with fear in his eyes. "Sorry, Ms. Line." he replied, his voice trembling. His flank was already covered with marks from the beating that happened yesterday. Ms. Golden Line, the history teacher, was known for her bad temper. She repeatedly beat Snails because he could not understand what she had said. His flank was burning in pain from the beating.

Beta jumped into the classroom, still invisible, and landed in Line's papers. He walked off the table, ignoring the teacher who was talking, and went to the back of the room where the books were stored. Looking up at the five foot shelf, he studied the side of the books until he found one titled_ The History of the Mark._ He grabbed the book and pulled it toward him, causing it to tip and fall off the shelf, hitting the ground with a thud.

The teacher looked up, saw that a book had fell, and ignored it, continuing to talk.

Beta ignored the teacher and flipped open the book, searching the contents for a title that could be used to describe what he was searching for.

"_Found it yet?"_ Delta asked, walking up behind him.

"_Not yet, where were you?"_

"_Took a detour, walked through some classes then came here."_

Beta nodded then stopped his hoof at a chapter title. _" 'How It Works', sounds about right, no?" _

Delta read what page number it was on and flipped through the pages until he hit the chapter.

Ms. Line had given the class a couple of sheets to work on and had noticed the book on the floor open and watched it as the pages went by one by one as if it was being used. Annoyed by this interruption, the teacher walked to the back of the room and reached down for the book.

Beta watched as the teacher reached in between him and Delta and grabbed the book. She began lifting it when Beta placed his hoof on the book and pressed down, keeping the book down.

The teacher was bewildered. Why couldn't she lift the book? She heaved and pulled as hard as she could to lift the book.

Beta was now annoyed. He smiled as he let go of the book, laughing as he watched the teacher nearly smack herself with it.

Scootaloo to this chance to poke fun at the teacher. "What's wrong, Golden? Can't lift a book?"

Line's temper flared as she placed the book back where it belonged. "Scootaloo, Come here."

Scootaloo knew she was in trouble, but she didn't care. It would be worth every second of punishment. Besides, she's been worse before. The holes in her wings proved it. "What?" she growled.

Line raised her yardstick and slapped Scoot across the face with it, leaving a red mark on her face. Scootaloo reeled back as she was hit, her wing covering her face. She looked past her wings to see Golden Line raise her stick again, her face full of rage, and closed her eyes, bracing for the pain.

It never came.

* * *

"_Wake up."_

He was sure he heard Beta's voice. His eyes, already adjusted to the dark, noticed Charlie sleeping right beneath him_. _ He pushed himself up over Charlie and out of the bed, replacing his brace and looking around. He took in a breath of air and smelt the sweat drying and smiled. _He's only fifteen. You are eighteen,_ he thought. _Yeah, so? We are young, we do stupid things_,

"Delta?" Charlie asked as he woke up as well, albeit groggily. He looked at Alpha and his face reddened, his wings opening.

"Why did you wake?"

"I heard Delta tell me to wake up. Why are you?"

"I heard Beta tell me the same."

The two stared at each other, both aware of what they did.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Alpha glared at Charlie. "You always sucked at lying, you know that, right?"

"Fine." Charlie replied shyly. "Next time, be gentler."

"I wasn't that rough!"

"You weren't the one receiving."

Alpha's mouth dropped, his cheeks reddening. "You suggested it! How the fuck was I supposed to know what to do?"

"To be honest, I have never seen you blush before."

Alpha turned around, as if looking for somepony before looking at Charlie. "Do you know what to do?"

Charlie tilted his head left to right. "Well yeah..."

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Well, you know…" His voice trailed off.

Alpha stared at Charlie for a few seconds, before blinking rapidly, shaking his head, and switching his weight to his left side. "Wait what!?"

"Come on." Charlie replied with a smile, gesturing him to the bed. "I'll tell you what to do."

Alpha removed his brace slowly, and hesitantly walked to the side of the bed, and stared at the bed.

"Are you….scared?"

Alpha looked to Charlie. "Scared? No. Confused? Yes. Do I know what to do? Somewhat."

"Well," Charlie replied, pushing himself up on the bed. "I'm already tired, but I have enough energy to try again."

Alpha looked at him before jumping onto the bed. "Are you sure?" He asked, placing a hoof on Charlie's flank.

"_Go to my tomb."_

Charlie groaned. "You heard that right?"

"Go to Beta's tomb?"

"Yeah."

Charlie nodded. "Come on. "He spoke as Alpha removed his hoof and jumped off the bed him, walking out the door.

"Hey," Alpha said, pulling him back into the room. He leaned forward, kissing him on the muzzle. "We can do it later."

Although it was still dark because the sun hadn't risen yet, ponies were already up and moving around. Charlie and Alpha ignored the glances from others and made their way into Beta's tomb.

The line of _Estefanias_ was huge. There were suits for all the four types of ponies: Alicorn, Pegasus, Unicorn, and Earth pony_. _Although they were in-active, once Alpha stepped onto the smooth granite floor, one suit, a Pegasus Variant, came to life. It assembled itself and charged, without a wearer, Alpha. However, before it hit him, it disassembled and the pieces of metal flew to his body. Charlie watched in amazement and curiosity as the suit assembled itself on his friend. He noticed that suit was a slight too big for Alpha and his eyes widened as the suit let go of some plating, until it fit Alpha like a glove. Only his mane and tail were uncovered, and they slowly fell back to their original places.

"Whoa." Alpha said; his voice muffled. He turned around. Neither of them could hear the metal scrape against the plates or the ground. He looked through the eyeholes at Charlie. "How do I look?"

"You are glowing." Charlie replied, a smile forming on his lips. "Your eyes, hair, and mane are glowing, along with strides of Sky-Blue light on the armor."

He looked for a mirror, and once he found it, he laughed. The suit didn't feel as if it was a suit, more like just another layer of skin, except it wasn't skin, it was the strongest type of metal he and Beta ever knew.

"Ok!" Charlie said, pumping his legs. "My turn!"

Alpha heard something move behind him, turned around, and almost was hit by the charging suit; another Pegasi variant.

Charlie squealed with glee as he was fitted, for the first time, with his own personal set of _Estefania_.

"You colts are-" Luna froze as she stared at the two moving, glowing armor suits. She placed one hoof on the floor and an Alicorn Variant came to life. Luna however, turned into Nightmare Moon before the suit came close to her, and watched as it skidded to a halt. It stood, frozen as it examined the armor she wore before nodding and walking back to its original spot, deactivating once it was in place.

"There's one for every single pony in the mountain, including Changelings!"

Chrysalis appeared, teleporting in front of NightMare. "I heard Changelings!" she spoke as she turned around. "Why are you in this form?" She asked NightMare.

Instead of replying, she pushed Chrysalis down to the floor. Once her hoof touched, the Alicorn Variant, originally intended for her, charged behind Chrysalis.

"What was that for!?" Chrysalis cried out, her insect-like wings flapping fast as she began to hover. The back hoof boot from the suit flew forward and encased Chrysalis's back hoof. It did not fit however, and it released itself, before flying back to the suit. The suit stopped, skidding to a halt. It looked at Chrysalis before looking behind itself and running back, to its mannequin

"_New Species Detected. Searching Database for reference. Stand by."_ The suit spoke, the voice sounding almost…human.

"_Done. Species Designated as Changeling. Beginning Suit Calibration."_

Almost as if it were actually alive, it checked it's mannequin and looked back at Chrysalis multiple times, re-arranging the mannequin to copy a changeling's form. The four watched as it switched parts and added new ones to the mannequin before taking one last look. _"Suit Calibration Complete. Beginning Suit Database Re-Calibration."_

It deactivated then the disassembled, assembling on the newly formed mannequin. Parts rearranged themselves while others hovered in mid-air, looking for places to go. It acted as if it were given a puzzle to complete. It started with the hooves then moved upwards. After a minute of full relocation, the suit disassembled off the mannequin and assembled itself, without help.

"_Suit Re-Calibration Complete."_ It turned and walked to Chrysalis. _"Please do not move while suit is assembling as it will not only take longer to assemble but injury and or death may occur." _

It waited for Chrysalis to nod before disassembling on her, each part perfectly fitting on her body. Once covered, it began to glow a dark shade of Turquoise, and the three heard a muffled laugh. "Why did you not tell me about this before?" Chrysalis's voice spoke.

"We didn't know about it until now." Alpha replied.

Charlie was about to reply before the voice spoke. _"Teleport to my location."_

"_Voice and Magic Identification confirmed. Teleporting…"_

Alpha and Charlie exchanged glances before teleporting.

* * *

Line tugged at the yardstick, trying to move it. She looked back to see it engulfed with a thin semi-transparent layer of red magic. Looking past it, she saw the young mutant glaring at her, his mane, tail, and eyes glowing dark red. Line's rage gave way and she screamed at Beta. "LET GO!"

The mutant didn't respond, but began to become non-transparent so he could be seen by everypony in the room. Scootaloo, still covering behind her wing, spread a few feathers and saw Beta and opened her mouth in disbelief. _So it was true, the rumor was real._

"_Do you know who I am?"_ Beta spoke, his voice sounded deep.

"You are Beta, The freak I was talking about." Line replied, letting go of her stick and turning to face him.

"_Do you know why I went 'insane'?"_

"You were a bully, a freak and a mutant. You were bored so you decided to kill for entertainment."

"Wrong answer." Scootaloo muttered.

"_Currently, I am still a threat to Celestia, and I can't blame her, I AM A THREAT." _He said, standing up and walking to Line, who, amazingly, stood her ground. _"I do kill for entertainment, but that was not the reason I killed so many. However,"_ he continued, Muzzle to Muzzle with Golden Line. _"I can still kill even though I am a ghost. Give me one reason why I shouldn't add another tally to the list." _He ordered.

Alpha had teleported behind him with Charlie, both encased in armor, but cloaked. Delta disappeared as he bonded with Charlie and took over, cloaking him so Alpha could focus on himself.

"Because I am alive, you are dead. You cannot kill me." Golden line said, her chest out, boasting.

Beta disappeared as he bonded back with Alpha, who uncloaked himself, revealing the glowing armor. She gave a tiny squeal of shock as he gazed upon Alpha. "Wrong Answer." Alpha spoke as he skinned her in front of the class. The rest of the class, some screaming, others frozen in shock…except for two. Scootaloo and Snails were smiling, nodding to the death they were witnessing.

A guard was watching, however, through the window on the right and teleported to Celestia. When he told her what he saw, Celestia instinctively obliterated the Guard in anger.

"What's wrong, Princess?"

Celestia looked to her right and studied her new student; Trixie. "Don your suit for close quarters, flying, and magic combat."

The blue unicorn looked up and grinned, before galloping away to the armory.

Celestia sighed before she standing up from her throne. She informed a nearby guard of the situation, who, at once galloped to the Barracks. She heard shuffling, the orders being shouted and the sound of hundreds of hoofs hitting the floor, all galloping, before she teleported to her room. Telling the guards to leave, she made sure she was alone, before she walking to her bed and tapping her hooves on the ground twice. The table beside her bed rose as it revealed the locker underneath it.

With Eye, Voice, Hoof print, Wing span, Feather width and length, Mane and Tail, and Horn Identification confirmed, the locker hissed open and engulfed the room in a white light.

The Princess of Equestria stood as she lowered the sun, incased in an ancient, long forgotten armor. It glowed white and covered all but her mane and tail. Guards had begun to expand through Ponyville and Manehatten, spreading the news and herding all in the cities inside the Castles nearest to them. Ponies from Ponyville and Cloudsdale poured into the Canterlot Castle, hoping the walls of the Castle would protect them from the imminent threat. To them, this had never happened, not since Beta the Bully went on his rampage, 900 years ago.

Celestia stood in the bright moonlight, looking through her telescope for anything out of the ordinary. She turned west and looked to the Castle's walls and froze.

Two shadows hovered above the walls, the guards unaware of them.

She turned the knob on the side of the telescope, increasing magnification and readied herself.

The two shadows were glinting in the light. _Metal._ The larger one had one blue and one red eye sockets, its armor glowing; blue and red scattered throughout the armor, with streaks of the same colors in its mane and wavering tail. Beside it was a smaller shadow. This one had one brown and one dark blue eye sockets. Its armor was glowing as well, with green and blue curved lines of light emitting from it. The mane and tail were glowing both brown and green.

The two colt-friends, mutants, bonded with their _friends_, stared at Celestia and watched her expression change as hundreds of lights began to glow behind them. Hundreds of suits activated, emitting light that lit the clouds above.

The guards on the walls readied themselves against the suits. Trixie walked up beside Celestia, with her own armor glowing.

"Looks like we won't be able to retry it again." Charlie spoke, his voice, serious yet sad, came from within the suit

"One hoof at a time." Alpha replied.

END OF PART 2

* * *

_Already have began typing Part 3. Let's hope they live._

_Happy what ever the fuck doesn't offend you. _

_And I'll see you guys when I release the next chapter. _

_See you later. _


	40. Chapter 38

She watched from afar. Not in her castle, not in the ruins of her old home, but on top of a small hill. Ponyville, abandoned, was like a ghost town; torches were still burning, radios played static, cottage doors creaked open and closed violently in the wind. The purple Alicorn watched the fire as it spread around her, starting from a small glowing ember to a giant wildfire. In her hoof, she subconsciously played with the small purple star. Her hooves had learned and memorized each and every smooth cut, cranny, and nook in the glass-like object.

The stars above twinkled in the night sky, the moon hazed from the smoke. Her castle aflame and demolished reminded her about the Castle of Two Sisters. She took a deep breath and smelled oak and cedar smoke, both stinging and soothing her mare lowered herself onto the ground, her head resting on the itchy grass that waved peacefully underneath her.

Twilight Sparkle watched peacefully as the flames surrounded her, and closed her eyes. She knew she was not immortal, and knowing so soothed her heart and mind as the orange light lapped at her body. Soon, it engulfing the element of magic and sent Equestria asunder; Harmony disrupted and in bedlam.

* * *

Part 3: Chapter 1: _The Mountain_

The two mutants hovered over the citadel's wall, unseen to the guards below. The light behind them began to glow brighter and brighter as more and more _Estefanias _revealed themselves. The moon was high in the sky; a first in the last three years. The light from the ground seemed brighter than the light from the moon, lighting up the clouds that littered the night sky. His ears picked up the faint sound of shuffling and looked below to see the guards shielding their eyes with their hooves, the light turning out to be quite bright, even for those who fight in the day.

The young mutant felt a nudge within and looked behind to see two figures upon a cloud, both in armor. One was the Legendary Nightmare Moon, her armor glowing in its own entrancing way, and the other, the Queen Changeling. She had no helmet on, her head bare to see more clearly. The metal on her wings did not feel as comfortable as they should have so she discarded them. The two were talking to each other, slightly nodding their heads, pointing to places of interest.

Alpha turned around to see the hoard of earth and unicorn ponies crowding upon rocks and hills, trying to get a good view of what they were going about to go up against. His eyes saw movement and noticed that some were in groups, giving out orders; telling others where to go. He saw a faint ghost among the rocks and recognized the infamous King acting as the general he was when everything seemed perfect. He was facing the opposite way, talking to a few.

"Dash," Alpha spoke aloud.

The mare flew to his side. "Yeah?"

"Choose five of your best and scout out Cloudsdale."

"On it!" She gestured five pegasi before flying off.

Alpha teleported down to the hoard of earth and unicorn ponies and looked around. "Where is Rarity?" Only the sound of metal scraping metal as heads turned to look at him responded. "Is she not here?"

"She's probably with her." Somepony responded.

"_Right."_ Beta acknowledged with a groan.

"Is Sweetie Belle here?"

A loud squeal pierced the silence and the suit ran to Alpha. "I'm here. What do you need?" Belle sounded excited to be chosen.

"Grab Scootaloo and AppleBloom and go to Ponyville."

"Why?"

"_If any Royal Guards come through, fire off a flare into the sky. You do know how to do that, right?" _

The metallic suit shifted its weight to its right nervously.

Beta sighed. _"Just teleport back here and tell us." _

"About that…" She sounded embarrassed.

This time, Alpha turned to look at her. "Seriously?"

"It's hard, okay?!" She cried out.

"What can you do?"

"She can't do anything, she's a blank flank."

Alpha turned around to see another suit of armor. "And you are?"

"Diamond Tiara."

Alpha just noticed the tiara that was sitting just above the forehead.

"Piss off, DT." Scootaloo said, landing beside her friend. "He didn't ask for you."

"Shut up, you Blank-Flank Fuck, besides, between me and Sweetie Bitch here, I am the only one who can both teleport and fire off flares." She turned to Alpha. "I'll take it from here." Before he could respond, she turned around and walked away.

"_I don't think so."_ Beta spoke out. _"Estefania, halt."_

DT's suit froze in place. Alpha, grinning, walked to her. _"Listen up. First off, you should know that Alpha, I, Charlie and Delta are blank-flanks, so stop using it as a fucking insult, all four of us can easily kick your flank, not to mention rip it to shreds, quite literally. Second off," _Beta lifted up his hoof and swiped to the right. The armor on Diamond Tiara flew off, leaving her. _"Get the fuck outta my army." _

"But I can do what they can't!" She whined.

"_I honestly couldn't give a fuck even if I wanted to and tried to give a fuck. You are a bully."_

"So?"

Beta took over the suit, the color turning blood red. _"The reason I went insane was because of bullies. In my opinion, ALL BULLIES NEED TO DIE. However, because there is about to be a fight against the one Alicorn I have always wanted to kill, I shall let you leave. But if Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell, or Apple Bloom EVER tell me that you bullied them again," _Alpha took off his helmet and leaned close to Diamond's, his eyes glowing dark red. _"I will kill you with your own fucking cutie mark, do you understand me?" _

Diamond began to whine and complain; buckling her legs quickly. Alpha ignored her and turned to look at the three, who had their own helmets off. "Go, scout out the village."

"What if Royal Guards come through?" Scootaloo asked.

"_Kill them all." _

Alpha watched as they donned their helmets, nodded to him and left. Charlie walked up beside him. "You okay?"

He nodded and leaned forward and picked up his helmet, looking at it for a few minutes before taking it putting it on. "Just getting ready. Go tell Sombra that we will be waiting until sunrise." He extended his wings and took to the sky, flying towards the two in the cloud, leaving a worried Charlie only to nod his head, watch his friend fly away before going to the King and spreading the news.

They were both quiet. Chrysalis was sleeping while Nightmare was taking watch. She knew he was coming before he even saw her. Only a slight turn of her head was enough for him to know that she knew he was there.

"Anything?" He asked.

"No."

He walked up beside her and Chrysalis, who looked up at him before closing her eyes, her head resting on the fluffy pillow of cloud. "You would not believe how comfy these things are; so much comfortable than thunder and rain clouds."

"_Guard Rotations?" _

"Every hour by the hour."

"_Weapons?"_

"Swords, Spears, Maces. They brought out a couple of catapults, but nothing _too_ powerful."

"_Celestia?"_

She nodded her head. "Still on her balcony, with her telescope."

"_Discord?"_

"Haven't seen him. Hopefully he fled."

"_But..."_

"But that's not his nature. He will try to surprise us."

Alpha looked around. Nightmare Moon's list was solid; he spied catapults as well as fully armed guards.

"How long can they stay there?" Alpha asked.

"Who's 'they'?"

"The other ponies."

"A pretty long time; that citadel was used when both I and Beta attacked, so weeks at least. Before you suggest it, sneaking in will be hard, even if you are cloaked. Celesta has the ground littered with sensors. It can tell her who is moving, where they are, and even their weight."

Alpha however wasn't focusing on the castle, but the mountain that the castle was beside.

"We can use the mountain next to the Castle."

"Explain."

"Take a large chunk off it and let it roll into the castle."

"That will kill everypony, guard and civilian there."

"_If _she doesn't stop it." Alpha added.

"And if she does?"

"We attack. The Guards focusing on us, Celestia on the rock. The Queen can't be in two places at once."

"But what if she doesn't?"

"_That's the fun part. If she doesn't, hundreds of ponies will die. We go back to the mountain and wait a couple of years. Then we slowly come out and spread the question." _

"Why didn't she stop it?" Nightmare Moon slowly finished the plan.

"_Exactly," _Beta laughed. _"Revolution, and this time, there isn't one pony that is the revolution, it's everypony."_

"Your teacher was awesome." Nightmare said with a chuckle.

"_Yeah, you are." _

"Now, how the hell are you gonna take a chunk off the mountain?"

"Let me handle that." Alpha took off into the air, flying towards the mountain.

"But Celestia will hear it."

"All part of the plan." Chrysalis replied softly, yawning as she stood up, stretching.

"But how will he take off the top?!"

"I'm sure he will find a way."

* * *

Sorry for the wait. Homework, finals and grades for school were playing hell with my schedule.

Chapters are gonna be released once (maybe twice) a week.


	41. Chapter 39

Part 3: Chapter 2: I Spy With My Little Eye…

Once Alpha knew Nightmare Moon could not see him, he teleported to Manehatten.

It was empty. Beer and Cider bottles littered the roads and papers were flying in the wind. It reminded Alpha of a ghost town, except there weren't any ghosts. His ears twitched to the left as they picked up the sound of a pony walking. He heard sniffling and what sounded like a pony doing her best not to cry and deactivated his suit to not freak out the mare. He turned left and walked down an alley, looking for the source of the sound. The alley turned out to be a dead end and the sound of the crying mare stopped.

"What do we got here?"

Alpha looked behind him to see a scrawny pony with a switch blade hovering behind him, blocking his way out.

"Looks like we got us ah colt." Said a stallion behind him; his features blocked out from the light behind him.

"Watcha got ahn ya, colt?" The unicorn with the blade spoke. Alpha saw shadows appear behind him; friends of the unicorn.

"Looks like some metal."

"Ooh, shiny."

"Dat will fetch a pretty price."

The unicorn snickered. "Well den, we gots us deal. You give us the metal suit, and we don't need to hurt ya."

Alpha turned around and watched as the unicorn walked towards him, backing him up against the wall. _Just a little closer…_

The shadow of the unicorn covered Alpha, muzzle touching metallic muzzle, and the knife lunged towards his neck.

Alpha activated the suit's lights and increased its brightness to maximum, temporarily blinding the thieves. The mutant sidestepped and reached for the horn. He wrapped his hoof around it and with a firm yank, ripped it off. The unicorn screeched as his friends pushed him aside as they tried to get land a punch on the pony that hurt their friend.

A pegasi lurched for the suit and was introduced to his buddy's horn as it slammed into the back of his neck. The horn was ripped out as another attacked, this time however, the suit did not stop him.

_He _did. The earth pony rose in the air and cried in agony as his skin began to peel clean off. The cries echoed the city as the stallion was brutally killed.

The body fell to the ground with a _plop, _and Alpha walked passed the passed out unicorn, leaving the alley and walked into the light from a nearby street pole. Blood was dripping from the suit.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Alpha turned around to see an old acquaintance. The unicorn wasn't smiling like she used too the last time he saw her and she was missing her iconic purple shades and blue headphones, and she was crying.

"What happened?" Alpha replied, lowering the brightness of the lights.

"Celestia found out and decided to punish me for it by killing her."

"How long ago?"

"A week? A month? After her death, time seemed to fly by."

Alpha removed the bloodied helmet and frowned.

"So I ask again: What the fuck are you doing here?"

Alpha looked her over and noticed several bruises including a black eye. "I can't imagine how you are feeling right now. That's a living nightmare to me, considering what I've been through."

"How the fuck do you know?"

"I have a colt-friend."

"Gay, huh?" Vinyl teased Alpha. "What if I called the royal guard?"

"It wouldn't really matter."

"Why not?"

"Because A, they are all at the castle and B, you aren't the pony to ask the Alicorn that brutally tortured and killed your mare-friend for help."

Vinyl glanced away. "What do you want?"

"_We are attacking Celestia. We have an army and were wondering-"_

"No." Vinyl interrupted as she began to choke up on tears again. "I'm not like that; she wouldn't want me to kill."

"I need your help."

"I don't care."

"Do you have your cannon?"

"I HAD my cannon. It's gone now. I used it to defend Octi from the guards."

"Where is it now?"

"In Manehattan's armory vault."

"Which is where?"

"Why?"

"Do you want your cannon back?"

"More than anything."

"_124 S Broadway." _

Vinyl looked at Alpha.

"_That wasn't me."_ Beta replied.

The gray ghost appeared next to Vinyl. It was a mare, with a music note as a cutie mark. "Miss me, Vinyl?" Octavia asked.

Vinyl froze at the sound of her voice.

"_You are a mutant?" _Beta asked in disbelief.

"_Yup."_

"_What is your ability?"_

She glared at Beta, who had un-bonded with Alpha and appeared next to him.

"How do you think I stay in a good mood after my concerts?" Vinyl asked, a smiling slowly forming on her muzzle.

Beta stepped back in disgust.

Octavia facehoofed as Vinyl chuckled softly.

"_Seriously? How the fuck do you even know that Lesbian mares do that?" _Octavia asked Alpha.

"I don't."

Octavia looked at Beta.

"_Hey, I died as an 18 year old earth pony and was still in puberty. When I came back as a ghost, I had a list of things to do." _

Vinyl was now laughing out loud. _"You pervert." _

"_I was, no longer now." _

"_You sure about that?" _

"Vinyl, if we get your cannon back, can you help us?" Alpha asked, ignoring Octavia.

"That depends, what do you want me to do?" Vinyl replied as soon as she could breathe, wiping away the tears of laughter.

"We need you to blow off the top of a mountain."

Both Octavia and Vinyl turned to look at Alpha. Octavia was shaking her head, while Vinyl was prancing around, her head nodding up and down.

"I spy with my little eye….something green."

"Grass." Nightmare and Charlie replied nearly instantaneously

"Dammit. Your turn, Nightmare." Chrysalis growled.

"I spy with my little eye….someth-" Nightmare Moon was cut off as the sound of Rock echoed throughout the valley, followed by the sound of an avalanche. Everypony, both inside and outside the castle looked up at the mountain and watched in horror or amazement as the top of it was blown to giant chunks of rock that began to roll towards the mountain. If the three on the cloud listened closely, they could hear distinctively a mare maniacally laughing behind the thunderous sound.

"That fucker…" Celestia replied with a smirk as she watched the rock roll, assaulting her castle.


	42. Chapter 40

Part 3: Chapter 3: Who won?

The sound of the crazy Dj's laughter mixed in with the rockslide had made it sound like as if the Devil himself was laughing. Fear struck like lightning in those who took refuge in the castle and screams began to battle against the rockslide for volume.

Celestia jumped off, and flew towards the oncoming rubble. Her wings opened up and began to glow as she began to halt each rock. They glowed in the golden hue of her magic, and halted in mid-air, some still spinning as their inertia was halted.

Chrysalis was standing beside Nightmare, with Sombra at her Side. The Three Generals, side by side, watching over the citadel as if they were playing a RTS game with their lives on the line.

"Send them." Sombra said.

"Yeah…" Chrysalis replied.

The black dots in the sky blotted out the moon as they charged the citadel, impacting the shield.

"Damn!"

"Don't worry." Sombra replied, fading away. "She's mine."

"No she isn't, she's mine!" Chrysalis cried out.

"What?"

"I impersonated her! Trapped her in a crystal mine, I did!"

"I was the former ruler of the Crystal Kingdom."

Charlie flew past between the bickering two. "Dibs."

The three Generals watched as the mutant flew towards the shield, right above the northern wall. The Changeling smiled as she watched him bounce off. "It's made from the power of love." She yelled out.

"So?!"

"So, you cannot penetrate it!"

"I am currently in love with a teenage colt!" Charlie replied as he admitted the forbidden love he had. The three generals looked at each other with worry. It didn't matter to them that it was forbidden, they did not care about the law of love in Equestria. What mattered to them was that Charlie was a very shy colt, usually only talking to those he trusted which, except for Alpha and Spike, the only others he trusted were them.

He felt his heart pounding on his chest, both fear and excitement from doing something that he had always forced himself never to do. It was horrific and exhilarating at the same time. He felt as if he relived what he felt like during the first fight in his life where his life was actually depending on who won.

"So I don't see why I," He stopped as he retreated back 10 yards and flew into the shield, bouncing off again. "Cant." He tried again. "Get." And again. "In."

"_Look._"

Charlie looked up at the place of impact and saw nothing. "What am I looking at here?!"

"_It's brighter than any other spot." _

Charlie looked around and noticed the same thing. He backed up 20 yards and flew into the shield, then backed up 30, then 40 yards. Each time he backed up, a changeling flew down and joined him, impacting the shield near him. At 100 yards, he hit the wall and watched as his spot, which had grown quite considerably, began to crack.

Charlie flew back 200 yards and looked at the bigger picture.

"_What do you see?"_

"Chrysalis!"

The changeling turned to face him.

"When that shield breaks, its gonna crack and break up in pieces."

"We are counting on that. What do you want?"

"Take a hundred of your Changelings and go to the Southern Wall. When he shield breaks, destroy the support beams holding up the Castle!"

"What about those inside the citadel?!"

"You will be only taking out a small portion. Enough to allow your changelings to slip in. Pose as civvies and you'll blend right in."

"How do you know that we won't be mistaken as the enemy?!"

Nightmare padded her shoulder. "We aren't after the innocent, remember? The goal of this battle is not to kill everypony on sight, it's to become a distraction so Alpha can slip in and end this war once and for all."

"WE ARE A DISTRACTION?!"

She nodded calmly.

"What will happen when Celestia falls?"

"Strictly and politically speaking, one can't quit the royal bloodline."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning I'm still Princess. Therefore, when Cel is taken out, I have royal confirmation that the kingdom is mine."

"You'll become…queen."

"Princess actually. Need to marry a prince to become Queen." Nightmare said with a smirk. "No-pony is cute enough sadly."

"What about that big red fellow? What's his name? Big-something…"

"Macintosh?"

"Yeah, him. He look's cute."

Nightmare looked at Chrysalis with the most dead-panned face of all time. "No."

"Are you ponies listening to me!?" Charlie cried out.

"Yeah." Chrysalis replied, calling out to her group leaders, who flew to her at once. "Listen up," She began as they were all there, all 50 of them. "Change of plans, only kill the guards, no innocents. Do not commit any other means no stealing, raping, killing innocents, pony-napping," She turned to one changeling whose teeth were un-naturally pinkish. "And no cannibalism! THAT MEANS YOU, CARL." They all saluted except one.

Carl groaned is disappointment. "Just one!" He pleaded.

"No. If we win this battle, we will be allowed back into Equestria, and be treated like we used to be before we became what we are."

All group leaders including Carl looked at Nightmare Moon for confirmation, who nodded her head. "You all are still considered ponies." She spoke out.

"Right, go spread the news then," She pointed to ten of them.

They all nodded, flew back to their groups to spread the news. Except Carl, who stubbornly crossed his front legs and pouted.

Chrysalis sighed. "Fine, you can eat."

He looked up and threw his legs up and chirped loudly in excitement.

"ONLY GUARDS!"

"Fine with me." The changeling replied as he flew back to his group.

"Seriously?" Nightmare asked.

"What?" She looked at her then rolled her eyes as she realized what she meant. "Oh come on, Ponies are insanely tasty sweet."

"SO IS THAT A YES OR A NO?" Charlie cried out.

"That's a yes!" She cried out. Chrysalis turned to Nightmare. "I generally go for the flank and-"

"Don't say it." Nightmare interrupted sternly.

Chrysalis looked at her, surprised and opened her mouth to argue.

"Don't. You. Dare."

"WHO ELSE WILL HELP ME!?" Charlie asked, landing on the ground. "I need more than just myself to break through that shield."

"I'll race you. On Three. Gallop before flying to get speed."

Charlie looked to his side to see his colt-friend beside him on his left, covered in dried blood.

"One." Alpha counted.

"You know I'm much faster than you."

"Two."

"What the hell happened to you?" Charlie asked as he readied himself.

"_Three." _Both Beta and Delta spoke at the same time.

Alpha and Charlie broke off into a sprint getting into the air after 10 yards, gaining speed like Dash as she performed the Sonic Rainboom for the second time.

_150 yards to go_

The hoard of rebels began to light up as they looked up to see the two leaders race above, heading for the wall. The outlines of light that came from the suits melted into lines as they flew faster and faster.

_100 yards_

Both ghosts boosted their friend with magic, giving them a boost similar to the nitrogen boost humans use in drag-races. The dirt that the two pushed into the air when they began hit the ground.

_50 yards_

The two leaders were beside each other, their wings nearly touching. Alpha risked a side-long glance and saw that his right wing sparked every few milliseconds on the very tip as the two wings touched each other.

_25 yards_

The two braced themselves, lowering their heads as their ghosts shielded their helmets.

_5 yards_

The two broke the sound barrier. The ring had not even begun to form when they impacted the shield, easily breaking through. The dome cracked nearly instantaneously as if it were glass. The rings formed, cutting deep into the ground below, giving a show of colored flames across the dome as it collapsed.

The ring was engulfed with Blue and Green flames.


	43. Chapter 41

Part 3: Chapter 4: An Act of Respect.

"T," Nightmare said, smiling at the burning dome. "Go."

It roared and the ground began to shake as the centaur headed for the wall. Arrows, Spears and Magic flew towards the attacker. The three types of ponies around saw their friend in danger and some galloped, some flew, others teleported and defended him from any danger. They bucked arrows, disintegrated spears, and when they could not do anything else, used themselves as shields against magic.

Tirek, no bigger than 15 feet, lowered his head, and impacted dead center of the wall, destroying it as if made of brittle clay. Brick and cement flew everywhere and in came the red centaur, a tsunami of soldiers, both enemy and ally, at his hooves.

"DISCORD, DEAL WITH HIM." Celestia cried out, still focusing on the rockslide.

Tirek, in the midst of dealing with the guards heard a giggle and braced himself, as the un-natural magic of the Draconequus hit him, sending him flying into the southern wall. The element of chaos appeared in front of the dust cloud, no longer smiling like he used to. "It was foolish to attack her. You already have before and you were lucky that she had the mercy to spare your life."

"This isn't about gaining power." Tirek's voice, mimicking thunder, boomed from the dust. "As you can see," He walked out of the dust cloud. "I am not as big as I was before. I already know of a pegasi that can easily out-power and kill me. This is about something entirely different."

Discord heard him begin to breathe in before he felt his magic start to seep away. Unlike the last time when he was unaware of what was happening, this time he was ready. He teleported behind the behemoth, and wrapped his tail around his neck. With his free claw-like hand, he took hold of his head in the center of his horns and began to _absorb_ Tirek's power.

"You aren't the only one who can absorb magic, you know." Discord snickered as his magic increased.

With the creature cutting off his oxygen, Tirek released his power in an attempt to give the creature what it wanted, hoping that he would absorb all of it. Discord didn't understand why he was doing this, but he nevertheless continued to absorb magic. The beast began to shrink.

The mutant landed in front of the king with his right wing open and let his remaining speed spin him, the dull side of the wing impacting the king's chest guard. Shining Armor flew back hitting the wall with the transferred energy with full force, knocking the wind out of him. He opened his eyes and saw stars. Once his vision cleared however, he got back up and looked at his attacker.

"Remember us?" The mutant replied, activating his armor.

It shined brightly, engulfing the downed king in bright blue light. He waited, his head down, his ears perked up, listening.

The armor brought up its wing again and brought it down, this time sharp edge first.

He heard the _whoosh _of the wing in the air and dodged the incoming blade. He tackled the mutant to the ground, his axe, repaired and honed to the iota, in his right hoof. He spun it in the air and brought it down, the flat edge connecting with the helmet. He felt the axe wrestle in his hoof and cut off the magic from the ghost within. "Not this time." The suit of armor kicked its hind legs up hard, breaking a few of the king's ribs. The Unicorn grinded his teeth but did not budge and continued to hit the helmet with the heavy end of his axe. The dull end missed its intended target and instead hit the armored neck, breaking off some metal. With the neck open and vulnerable, he raised the axe, this time sharp edge down.

The mutant had enough. He brought his wing to his belly, the knife-like feathers cutting deep into his left side. He saw the king slightly move to the right and knew he only had one chance. He kicked as hard as he could with his right hind leg at the cut. It worked, and the king sidestepped in pain, the axe falling to the ground beside him.

The mutant got to his hooves and looked at the king. He faced the mutant with his left side bleeding, bloody hoof marks littered the cut. "So, Alpha, looks like you have actually learned to fight."

The mutant tilted his head and looked up. Shining did the same and sidestepped as the Alicorn impacted the ground, cracking it. "Ooof!" Candance let out as she began to get up before looking to the sky and teleporting in a pink flash as she dodged the attack. Landing on all four hooves where she was previously at was a suit glowing both red and blue, with a glowing galaxy blue mane. It turned to look at Shining, who stared back before glancing at the other.

It was smaller than the big one. Shining armor looked closer to see that it wasn't only glowing blue, but also brown and realized that its mane was brown. It was so dark however, that he didn't see it the first time.

"He's wounded." The larger of the two spoke.

"Yes he is."

"Easier kill."

"He put up a cat-fight instead of an actual fight."

The larger one laughed. "Really?"

"I want more of a challenge."

The other moved to the left of the smaller one. "Take her, she can fight."

The mutant looked at Candance. "You sure?"

He nodded. "I am."

Shining raised his axe and nodded his head towards his new enemy. Candance dashed off.

"Watch out for his axe, damn thing is stronger than I thought." The smaller one replied as he went after the Queen.

"Alpha."

"Shining."

The two stood there, staring at the other, both quiet.

"You might want to heal up that wound." Alpha replied, nodding towards the cut.

"And leave me defenseless? Not happening."

He took of his helmet. "I want an actual fight before going to Celestia. So I will not fight as you heal. An act of respect that you did not give me the last time we met."

Shining cautiously lowered his axe, his eyes focused on Alpha. He made quick glances to his side before actually taking a good look at the cut, sitting down in the process. As he did so, Alpha looked over his own armor,.

The cut was deep, but not fatal. He scowled as he healed his side, watching as the veins and blood vessels reconnected and the flesh pull itself back together, resealing the flesh.

The armor has neither dents nor scratches. It was perfect condition, considering the age of it that is.

Alpha looked up to see Shining, his axe in the air, the cut fully sealed. "Are you ready?" The king asked.

"Are you?"

He nodded and stood up.

"Good luck." Alpha said as he donned his helmet. "Make sure you are fast enough this time." He readied himself; wings extended, front legs forward, weight on back.

Shining Armor, King of the Crystal Kingdom, raised his axe and charged the mutant.

Alpha pushed with all his might off his hind legs and charged as well, left wing sheathed, right brace open.

A hoof wrapped around a horn. An axe impacted a metallic brace.

Neither was fast enough.


	44. Chapter 42

Part 3: Chapter 5: The Princess.

Candance hid behind a corner and when the mutant ran by, she grabbed his wing and spun him into a nearby building. He crashed through the wall as the dust cloud formed.

He shook off the confusion and looked around, the light of his armor flickering on. Surrounding him was a group of 10 royal guards. They were gearing up, grabbing swords and spears when the mutant came crashing in. They took one look at him and raised their weapons.

Candance waited until the dust cloud had settled before walking towards the hole. She was half-way there when out came the severed head of a royal guard, the eyes and mouth still twitching and jerking around. Behind it came the walking headless body of the guard, falling to its side once all neurons had no more instructions from the brain and began to twitch.

She walked in to find all nine guards still alive. All however, had their armor and weapons laying in a pile in the center of the room, with the mutant no longer there.

"What happened?" She asked.

None answered her, still in shock.

Candance growled as she walked to the sergeant on her left. "Sergeant,"

All he could do was look up at her.

"What happened here?"

He didn't reply but instead shook his head.

"He came in…" One guard spoke up, shaking like the rest.

"Then what?"

"We all looked at him, raising our arms but…but…"

"But what?"

"It was too fast. It sliced open the private as if he was made of butter." The guard broke down into a sob.

Candance frowned then patted the guard on the shoulder before embracing him in a hug to calm him down. "It's okay. Shh. It's alright. Everyth-OW!" She yelped in pain as the guard bit her side. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

The guard looked up at her and she realized that he had no pupil; his eyes were green and the two teeth sticking out from his smirk were un-naturally pink. "I have to admit," the sergeant spoke out, changing form. "You fell for that so fast. Much faster than the time you fell for the muffin-pony disguise."

She looked to her left and saw the Sergeant transform into a changeling. The guard beside her bit again, this time blood streamed from the wound. "Changelings aren't cannibals though."

The Changeling removed her helmet and grinned. "But Carl here wasn't a pony in the first place. He was bitten by a vampire bat, and ever since he became a Changeling like us, he has been eating ponies and only ponies. He's the only one like that."

"So," Candance replied as she grimaced in pain. "Where's the mutant?"

"Who, Charlie?"

"Yeah."

The pile of suits began to move and out came the mutant, his helmet off and had a guard helmet on. "These are too big for me." He said with a chuckle.

"Why not use the helmet made for the suit?"

"I do, it's just that I can't breathe in it."

Chrysalis giggled as the changeling behind Charlie came in. He nodded to his friends and Chrysalis before looking at the downed queen.

"_Don't kill her." _

"Why?"

"_WE are only here for Celestia. She,"_ Delta said, pointing to Candance. _"Isn't the target." _

The Changeling nodded but continued to feed. Delta donned his helmet and continued to stare at Carl.

"What?"

"_Stop drinking."_

"Shut up, colt." The Changeling insulted, taking his teeth out of the downed Queen's side. "Chrysalis doesn't tell me what to do, so what makes you think I'll listen to you?" He shoved Charlie back outside with a hoof. "The last time I checked, your colt-friend was the leader of this Army, where is he now?"

The metallic brace lied on the ground, and in its hoof was the white horn. The mutant in armor stood up and shook off the distortion, before having his _friend_ take over and dodging the swinging axe. Alpha looked up to see King Shining Armor, up and moving. He glanced at his burnt limb, now in open for all to see, including Shining.

"Bet that hurts." Shining said with a laugh. "Aww, did the unicorn take off your wing?" He stepped forward and swung his axe. Alpha sidestepped, keeping his anger and himself at bay. Something flashed and he looked past Shining to see his wing, still spinning albeit slightly.

"_That isn't a good idea."_

"Have any other suggestions then?"

The two stopped moving, both Alpha and Shining.

"_Don't fight, just wait and watch." _

Alpha did what he was told and watched as Shining slowed his breath. Once his heart began to beat at a normal rate, his face changed as the pain resurfaced and he dropped his axe, his hooves covering the stump on his head.

"What the hell am I witnessing here?"

"_His adrenaline was high enough that he didn't feel his horn being yanked off. Once his heart returned to normal, the pain registered." _

Alpha walked past the screaming King and looked at his wing, frowning. Five of the thirty metallic feathers were bent and two were missing. "It is gonna be hard flying now."

"_We practiced before." _

"When?"

"_Oh, right. You were asleep." _

"You practiced to fly while I was sleeping? How did that go?"

"_Not well to be honest. I stopped after three hours of practice." _

Alpha smiled as he imagined Beta trying desperately to take off into the air but both the memory and the feeling left quickly as he looked at his burnt appendage. It has been so long since he had an actual wing, when he did not know Beta. When he was forced to work and live in the Rainbow Factory.

He moved the four long, crumpled feathers that he still owned on his burnt limb as he looked up at the Castle. It was huge, easily as tall as the skyscrapers he saw in Manehatten. He turned to see Nightmare, still on her cloud, barking and shouting orders, hooves pointed in different directions as she order her troops. She relaxed and looked around, catching his eye in the process. He jerked his head to the Castle and Nightmare looked at the top before searching around the citadel. She nodded once, waited, then shook her head.

"_Celestia is still holding the rocks at bay but Trixie is gone." _

A sparkle rocketed up into the sky behind Nightmare and exploded into the brightest light that any pony had ever witnessed. Alpha closed his eyes but even then could still see light through his closed eyelids. It was a red flare.

"Looks like Sweetie Belle actually knows how to use magic." Charlie spoke beside Alpha.

Alpha looked down to see his colt-friend in his armor, caked in dried blood. "What the hell happened to you?" He asked as he picked up his wing and slipped the brace on.

"A changeling decided to insult you in front of me."

"What did you do?"

"Kicked its flank." He waved at Nightmare who nodded in response. Charlie made the shape of a T with his hooves then brought his hoof to his neck and made a swiping gesture.

Nightmare was still for a few seconds before nodding her head.

"_Tirek's dead." _Delta told Beta.

"_How?"_

"_Discord snapped his neck." _

"_Where is he now?"_

"_Discord is dead."_

"_What happened?"_

"_He began to choke Tirek. As he choked him, Tirek released his magic which Discord absorbed…"_

"_And blew up." _Beta knew what had happened.

"_Pretty much. Discord should have known why Centaurs are the only creatures able to absorb magic."_

"Why?" Alpha asked.

"_Centaurs are half human, half horse. Because they are made up of two species, they have abilities that ponies don't, one of which are absorbing magic without consequence." _Delta explained.

"_Right. Pure Magic in this world takes form of a rainbow colored liquid. Tirek's magic was made up of both Un-natural and natural pure magic. As Discord could only use one type and not the other-"_ Beta continued.

"He exploded." Alpha said once he understood what happened.

A suit of armor flew towards him, an ally, glowing in rainbow-colored light.

"Dash." Alpha spoke. "What's up?"

"Cloudsdale is destroyed, there is nothing left of it." Dash reported bitterly.

"Right," He pointed towards the flares that were still flying up into the air. "Scoot, Sweetie and Apple Bloom are in Ponyville. Flares are going up which means that Royal guards were trying to flank us. Take your group and go help out."

Dash nodded and turned, pointing towards the village and flew there, following the others.

"So," Charlie spoke out. "What next?"

Alpha looked up at the Castle before pushing Charlie out of the way and barely getting out of the way himself as the _white_ suit of armor hit the ground where they were just standing. It was glowing bright blue, the same color as its mane.

"Like my armor?" The mare from within spoke out. "It's a version of yours, just more powerful and mine."

"_You must be Trixie." _

"That's Trixie the Powerful to you." The mare snapped back. "I'm more powerful than you Beta."

"_Doubt it, to be honest." _

The mare stood on her hind legs, the suit giving off its own light like the others. Nothing was new until Beta recognized the age-old weapon in both of her front hooves: Flails. She dropped the spiked balls and whipped one at Alpha. He jumped back, the ball inches from his face. She whipped the other, and Charlie ducked, letting it soar above his head.

* * *

Whoops, Fell asleep today, didn't get to post this when I wanted to. My bad. :/


	45. Chapter 43

Part 3: Chapter 6: The Calm Within The Storm

"_Flails?" _Beta spoke aloud. _"Really? You are going to go against us with Flails?" _

"What's wrong with flails?" Trixie spoke back. She swung the flail on her right at Charlie, her backside open. Alpha took his chance and shot off multiple spells, each hitting their mark, flames engulfing the armor. She yelled in pain and the left flail lashed at Alpha and she realized her mistake as the spells hit her open backside again, this time, however the armor was ready and absorbed the magic, enhancing her strength. The blue mare called back the flails and laughed as the two watched the spiked balls come apart and latch to her suit. Now layered in spikes, Trixie took on Charlie first.

Before he could even begin to register what he had just seen, Trixie landed a punch on his muzzle, easily cracking the armor. He spun from the hit and looked at Trixie only to take a leg to the face, knocking the poor colt out. She turned around to face her next target, which was already on his hind legs, ready.

Alpha watched the mare lunge at him, her spiked hoof flying towards his muzzle and sidestepped and waited before spinning himself and bringing the dull side of his right brace down, impacting the middle of her back. His left wing, in the air, clipped her neck, ripping off scraps of metal as it cut. Trixie landed and spun to face the Pegasi who had returned to his fighting stance and lunged again.

Alpha waited until her hoof was in grasp before grabbing it and yanking it towards his right. With his left hoof, he grabbed the leg in the middle and yanked it the other way as hard as he could until he could hear the bone snap like a toothpick. Her head had just passed his when he grabbed the back of her helmet and smashed it into the stone ground, shredding the metal protecting the horn and becoming impaled with gravel and dirt.

Trixie skidded to a halt and yelled out as she grasped the broken leg. Alpha turned around and walked to the colt before the two heard the screams stop as her brain shut down from pain. He frowned and looked back at the mare, the lights flickering as it de-activated. Alpha shook his head in disagreement to what he had just done, and began to walk to his unconscious friend. His hoof was millimeters away from touching Charlie's wings when Beta nudged him.

"What?"

"_Listen."_

Alpha stopped and focused on his hearing. He could hear the cottages around burning, sticks and hay crackling as the water within boiled and evaporated into the night. He heard his heart beat in his ears and noticed the sound of three ponies breathing. The scraping of metal on metal screeched each time they breathed. His ears picked up the sound of hooves hitting the ground, ponies running. The distant sounds of explosions, the smell of smoke, the taste of copper and the bright light of fire gave Alpha an uneasy feeling. He knew he was in the midst of a battle; he was already used to the feeling of tension and suspense but this was…different. In the fights he had been part of before, he was usually in an enclosed area, and could see his targets. But now, in an abandoned courtyard, he was out in the open without any knowledge of Canterlot City.

He didn't like it. Not one bit. He picked up Charlie and headed for an alleyway, specifically one with a dead end so that if attacked, he wouldn't have the need to worry about other enemies blindsiding him. Finally finding a dead end alley a couple of blocks from their original position, Alpha placed the colt on the ground, camouflaged by the dark shadows then walked to the opening of the alley and looked around.

"Is Delta awake?"

"_Yeah." _

"Tell him that we are going to figure out what has happened."

"_You are going to leave Charlie?" _

Alpha looked back at the colt, whose lights had deactivated. Even with his eyes accustomed to darkness, Alpha could barely make out the outline of the colt. "He'll be safe here. He is practically invisible where he is."

"_Just told Delta. Let's go." _

Alpha took one last look at Charlie before leaving the alley. He looked up and took to the air, heading for Luna's cloud to only find out that it was empty, vacant. Landing on the cloud, the colt looked around and shifted uncomfortably. The castle from his point of view was deserted. It was as if they all disappeared at once. Neither ally nor enemy could be seen, their bodies were still in place as before. His nostrils filled with smoke and he turned to see Ponyville ablaze. He looked up to see Cloudsdale gone, no longer existing.

"Beta?"

"_I'm seeing the exact same thing." _

"Where did they go?" Alpha asked aloud, his voice did not echo as nothing was around for the sound waves to bounce off of. He jumped off the cloud and fell to the ground. Just before he hit, he opened his wings, slowing himself enough to land safely and made his way to the destroyed wall that Tirek entered through. He walked through the rubble, still confused and amazed at the same time and looked up at the castle in front. He stood at the North entrance of the castle, gazing at the burning superstructure, frowning in awe.

The white blocks of stone were perfectly carved. Although they were stone, they reminded him of the marble columns inside. He looked around and flew to a nearby barracks and explored his surroundings. Once he had completed a full circle around the base of the castle and found no resistance or any life for that matter, he took one last look at the castle and left.

"_Where are you going?"_ Beta snapped at him.

Alpha ignored him and flew through an open window, landing with ease. His mind was empty but his conscious wasn't. He explored the second floor of the cottage. The master bedroom was in a mess. The bed sheets were on the floor in a ball at the foot of the bed and the lights were dead. As Beta conjured a ball of light to follow Alpha, he cautiously walked to the ball of sheets and poked it. As he presumed, his hoof went through the sheets without encountering resistance.

"Empty." He spoke. He turned and checked under the bed and found nothing. He turned and left the room, entering the bedroom on his right.

At the 80th cottage he froze and turned around. All other cottages were empty, abandoned. "Anything?"

"_Nope."_

"Anything at all?" Alpha felt desperate.

"_No." _

Alpha sighed before entering the cottage. He left the door wide open and searched the first floor for anything. Apparently it was dinner time for whoever was living here as the dinner table still had plates of food on them. He walked to the dinner table and noticed that not a single apple was touched or on its side. The kitchen and living room were empty, so he climbed the stairs and searched the second floor.

All rooms were empty, void of life like the other Seventy Nine. The pony stormed out of the cottage and walked away, confused and annoyed.

"_They have to be somewhere around here."_

Alpha looked around and saw a park and decided to explore it. As he walked to it, he felt himself relax more and more with each step. He removed his helmet, placing it on the nearby bench and smiled as he walked on the woodchips and sat on an empty swing, rocking himself ever so slightly back and forth. He closed his eyes and listened to the hinges squeaking. He smelled the wet grass and dirt, the oak and cedar scent from the woodchips and could faintly hear screams of colts and fillies laughing. "I remember this place. I was here before." He opened his brown eyes and looked at the red slide. "So very long ago."

"_I'm listening."_

Alpha hopped off of the swing, grabbed his helmet and walked to the nearby grassy hill. Upon the hill were two ponies; a mare and stallion. The stallion was hugging the Mare, protecting her from any harm. He knew perfectly who they were. The mare stirred and looked up. He looked down at her and dropped his helmet beneath him before scratching behind his ear.

"So you did this. You are the cause of all this." She spoke quietly.

He looked at the burning kingdom and nodded. He wouldn't dare to speak now.

"Was it necessary?"

"_She would have not listened before. She never has. Besides, what we did is child's play compared to what she has done." _Beta spoke.

The mare looked at Alpha who turned to her and watched as his right eye flicker red. "Who was that?"

"A friend." He finally spoke. "A close, close friend."

"Is your friend violent?"

"He can be at times." Alpha spoke to the mare as he sat down. The two were quiet as the watched the cottages burn on. The mare shook the stallion's grasp away and sat upwards as Alpha removed his brace and examined the damage. The mare did a double-take when she noticed his charred limb. She instinctively moved towards the injury but stopped she looked up to see him watching. "Yes?"

"When did this happen?"

"What?"

She pointed with her hoof at the appendage.

"Oh, Let's see…a week after I turned Eleven."

"…Eleven…" she muttered in shock. "How old are you now?"

Alpha stared at the metallic feathers that were bent and straightened one of them out. "Eighteen." He straightened the last feather out and looked to his right to noticed that the mare was sitting, facing towards him, staring. "What?"

"You're…eighteen…?"

He nodded his head and reequipped the brace. "Uh huh, time flies fast, don't it Mom?" He examined his mother. "When?"

"When _what_?"

"When did you die?"

She raised a hoof up in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Alpha sighed and stood up. She watched as he came face to face with her. He tilted his head. He reached out to touch her but she moved away.

"Are you not my mother?" He asked.

She nodded. "I am."

"So why would a mother not allow her colt that she had left at the park so long ago not touch her?" He waited for the answer but she only shook her head. He extended his brace and spun around, his wing passed through where her neck was.

"Because she's a ghost." She spoke.

He turned his head and looked at her.

"We left you because we…were given a message from Celestia that she needed you for something. She didn't say what but told us to abandon you or suffer. We did as we were told, we had to protect your sisters." The stallion behind her opened his ghostly eyes and stared at him.

"We were looking for you when you were at the factory. We put up fliers and eventually got a Stallion-hunt to find you. Eventually _she_ got angry and decided to silence us once and for all." The father spoke. "You were a colt that everyone loved, always nice and kind, never afraid to meet new ponies. So when you disappeared, some started to ask questions."

Alpha was silent as his parents explained what they did. He sat down and listened intently about how they fought peacefully against the Princess, how they tried so desperately to find him, how she burned down their house and made them "disappear" within an hour. They kept explaining and stopped for a few seconds when they saw his eyes flicker red as Beta did a quick check to make sure they were safe.

"We looked for you. We always did." His father said, finishing the explanation.

Alpha still stayed quiet.

"_Where are his sisters?"_

"Yellow Fang is with the StarGazers."

"And Silent Scream, where is she?"

"With us, underground."

Alpha nodded, making a mental note to meet his youngest sister after this is all over, as a ghost or as a pony. "Well, thanks." He donned his helmet and nodded.

"For what?" The couple asked in unison.

"For actually having a good reason why you left me." Alpha said as he walked off towards the Castle.

She watched her son walk to the castle to finish what he started. Once she could no longer see him, she went to her husband and nestled herself beside him. As they began to fade away, she looked up at the stars and thought she heard him say the three worded saying that she used to say to him so long ago when he was just a newborn colt.

The castle was an ugly mess. Bodies littered the ground floor and blood painted the walls. Several of the stained windows were shattered and the Chair that _she_ would sit on was charred and on its side. Alpha entered and climbed up the flight of stairs on his right slowly, ready for something to come out and fight him. But nothing happened. Nothing jumped out, no spells were shot, no knives or spears were thrown. He checked each and every room, looking for signs of life or even clues to where everypony went.

"Beta?" Alpha whispered looking at the dismembered limbs and bodies.

"_This is too weird." _

Alpha heard something move and spun around, cloaking himself. He manually deactivated the light on his armor, trading visibility for stealth. Everything slowly lost its color until all he could see was grey and black. He stood still, waiting.

And listened. Nothing. Not even the small scurries of a mouse. It was dead silent.

"_Leave the dead where they are. They respect us by not moving and staying motionless, so let's return the favor. Do not touch or move them." _Beta whispered.

"How do I pay any last respects if I have any?"

"_You are talking to a ghost here."_

Alpha sighed. "Was it like this the last time you were here?" Alpha stepped over a fallen door and past the bodies.

"_No. Most of the dead were in the cities, Ponyville and Canterlot. And I made sure the bodies were hidden until I went basically insane."_

Alpha saw a hole in the floor and peered down it, gazing at the downed pegasi. He looked up at the gaping hole that angled out towards the walls of the castle. The moonlight entered the hole and engulfed the spot on the floor above Alpha's position. He turned and left the room. Once he was at least aware of his surroundings, the teenage colt continued down the hall, climbing the spiral staircase, making sure not to touch the dead.

Celestia was following him. She was in armor and cloaked. She was behind them, hunting them like a Lion waiting for his prey to make the fatal move before he strikes. _You never will_ she thought.

She stopped trying to stop the incoming mountain shortly after it happened. After that, she embraced the _villainous_ side of her personality. Like a Queen on a chessboard, she sought out each pony, both ally and enemy, easily overpowering and killing them. No pony, excluding herself, Alpha, Trixie, and a few personal subjects were alive.

Her personal subjects, consisting of two stallions and two mares, were kept alive to ensure the repopulation of Equestria. Although Equestria was still populated by millions of other ponies, no pony must know of what had happened on this night. Not that she was afraid of rebellion, but because she was bored to death with politics.

The choice of killing everypony came quick. Although Celestia did not want to rebuild Equestria from the ashes, she didn't really mind. She did it before. The Princess did not think she was above everypony else. She knew that perfectly. Being Princess had as many Cons as it did Pros.

For example, a con about being Princess is that EVERYPONY protects you. Not that Celestia didn't like that but she felt as if it was an insult. She was an Alicorn, she knew how to use Master level magic, and she knew how to expertly fly: she could defend herself against anything. If they had let her to go after Beta when he was rising to power, none of this would have happened.

She shook her head and crept behind Alpha. None of that mattered now. The only thing that mattered was to end this colt's life and make sure NONE OF THIS happens again.

Alpha knew he was being followed but continued to pretend to be stupidly unaware and explore the empty castle. Beta nudged him on his left and right side. _I know_, Alpha thought as he continued to look around.

_Why aren't you doing anything?_

_Because she thinks we are unaware when we actually aren't. Just tell me if she switches places._

Beta nudged twice.

Alpha exited the hallway to enter the throne room once more. He had made a full circle and had not found a single living being in the castle. He heard the slight click of a hoof hitting the cut marble stairs behind him and felt his heart began to beat faster as he began to improvise.

"Have you been following me since I entered the castle?" He asked aloud, removing his helmet and blowing air up at his mane. He counted to ten in his head as he waited until she replied and when he got to ten, he spoke again. "I know you are there, Celestia. We aren't as stupid as you think."

"I know you are not stupid, Alpha." Celestia's voice pierced the silence and her eyebrow raised as Alpha did not act as she would have thought. "But once you entered the castle, you entered my home."

"It isn't the first time I did so."

"Indeed." She sounded annoyed. "You have attacked my home, killed my allies and murdered my guards, and for what?"

"To be honest, for an answer."

"Ask away."

"You did something to me when I was young; punished me when I did the right thing." He took off the brace and revealed the missing wing. "Why?"


	46. Chapter 44

Part 3: Chapter 7: Everything Always has Reason behind It. Always.

Canterlot was aflame. Its walls were breached, her buildings and cottages destroyed and burning. Trees were knocked down and the smoke blotted out the moon. No longer held up by Luna's magic, the stars began to fall one by one, impacting the ground at high velocity, causing the planet to let out small cries of pain as her mountains and ground were torn apart. Her hot glowing blood slowly oozed out of the mountains, melting the snow and causing pyroclastic floods that destroyed everything in its path, dead or alive, it did not care. The sounds of avalanches and rockslides created a deafening thunder that once thought to only occur in legends and old stories of forgotten times long ago.

The Princess, cloaked, her once snow-white suit now a light pink as the suit absorbed the oxygen and iron molecules from blood, stood in front of the colt. "You destroy my kingdom for a simple answer?"

"We both know you have done far worse." Alpha replied as he replaced the brace and donned his helmet. "And besides, we both know that's not the only reason why we are here."

Celestia revealed herself and snorted in amazement, turning her flank on Alpha. Flakes of dried blood fell to the ground like snow as they lost their grip on the metal.

"I know _his_ question and I already answered it long ago. But because you actually succeeded in attacking my kingdom and entering the castle, I will answer both your question and _his_ again. But before I start, let me tell you this." She said as she looked back at the colt. "You learned _his_ view. Your view is based off of what you have seen and what _he_ has either shown and/or told you. That's a one sided blade."

"_We aren't here for a fucking history lesson." _

"You have told him though, right?"

"_He knows." _

"Does he know all of it?"

"All of what?"

"Why, how it all started of course. How this whole battle, this grudge he has against me came to be." Celestia teased.

Alpha shook his head. "It's not my place to know."

"Would you like to know?"

He shrugged. "As I said, it's not my place to know."

Celestia stood next to the fallen door, looking outside at the stars, all hazed by the smoke of the burning building. "I told you to fear him"

"I would have, but he helped ease the emotional, the mental, and the physical pain."

"Beta isn't somepony to be trusted so easily."

"_Coming from the Alicorn that just killed everypony in Canterlot."_

"You did far worse."

"_I have, but I saved others from harm."_

"So have I."

"_You have killed more tonight than I and Tirek combined. We both know that none of what has happened tonight can spread. And considering the number of letters going to the other populated cities as we speak,"_

The Princess glanced at the rubble that was once a barracks. Smoke came through a small opening of the demolished roof as the fire within burned the makeshift beds. Embers began to fall from the sky, glowing faintly.

"_Exactly…" _Beta slowly spoke._ "We both know what you will have to do next in order to stop the truth from spreading." _

"You two have forced my hoof. I did not want to do this."

"_You forced my hoof, not the other way around. I didn't want to kill them at first, but then after you met me, you used me, scapegoated me."_

"I needed something to blame. Something to blame that was realistic; that others would believe would be the actual cause."

"So you go for mutants." Alpha spoke out. "You didn't understand them at the time and decided to blame them because it was realistic. What about the factory?"

"The Rainbow Factory was created 400 years after Beta. I needed power to keep the economy stable. There was no other way."

"What about the Heart of Equestria?" Alpha asked.

Celestia sighed. "The Heart of Equestria is...is…" she trailed off. "I don't actually know what it is."

"You used it before though, to heal your leg."

"How do you know that?"

"_Your sister."_

"I know faintly what it is." Celestia corrected herself.

"_Which is?"_

"It's a type of magic unknown to our kind. It was created long ago when the two legged beings lived."

"_Humans then? I thought they never experienced magic." _

"They did, but they had another name for it. I was part of the first tribe of ponies to live in Equestria. There were humans when I was little but a disease wiped them out just after I turned 50."

"How old are you now?"

"A little over Millennia. As centuries passed, their creations were taken over by nature and the elements. Cars, buildings and, cities turned to dust but a rare few stayed behind. Canterlot was once an island called England. The human machines that created power or _electricity_ were both dangerous and useful. Buttons and dials filled the rooms that held the great machines. They flickered and beeped and spun but as time went by with little to none taken care of, these machines turned into Volcanoes of Deadly magic. This magic could not be seen, smelled or heard, but it was felt. My friends became sick, their bodies degrading rapidly."

She paused then shook her head. "After few thousand years, the deadly magic infused with the body and blood of ponies, including mine. As some grew wings and began to fly and walk on the clouds and others grew horns to use magic, I grew both. A year later, I learned how to use magic and how to fly. The tribe, now grown from 10 ponies to 100, wanted to know what magic this was and what the humans knew, if anything, about it. So they sent me for I was back then considered as three types of ponies in one form."

"_Sounds fun."_ Beta commented sarcastically.

"It was my first adventure and I was eager to explore. I flew across the land, searching for the deadly magic. Guess what I found."

"_The Heart of Equestria."_

"Yes, but it wasn't, however, a mountain when I first found it. It was made of concrete and looked like a grey pipe with both ends wider than the middle section. Half of it was taken over by the mountain."

"_What is it?"_

"It was where the Deadly magic was coming from. At first I felt sick, but longer I stayed there, the longer I absorbed the magic and became more and more powerful. The elements of Harmony are solidified deadly magic."

"_What did the Humans call this 'Deadly Magic'?"_

"Radiation."

"_What is the Heart of Equestria?"_

"It's a Nuclear Reactor Plant."

Alpha did not like Celestia telling him everything he wanted to know at once. He stood up; deactivating his suit's light and disappeared as she continued. "I began to search for other and found out in an abandoned deactivated reactor that I had previously discovered that humans did not die by a disease but by the Radiation from Reactors that had collapsed prematurely. In an attempt to save their planet from more harm, they went to the moon. I couldn't leave Equestria as I had become princess shortly after I returned to tell the tribe what I had learned.

"_So you sent Luna."_

Celestia turned to realize that Alpha was gone. She walked back towards his last location as she continued to explain. "Like your legend, Beta, Luna's legend is also somewhat false. She and I both knew about the reactors and had volunteered to go to the moon to search for more. But we ran into a problem."

"_Everypony would want to know where she went and why."_

"I had forgotten how fast you learn." The Princess chuckled. "Yes, so as the legend says, Luna went insane and attacked Canterlot, which forced me to use the Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon."

"_Why the elements? Couldn't you just banish her without them?"_

"I could, but flying to the moon takes a lot of energy and magic. So I used the Elements to send her there without her wasting her energy."

"_Why for a thousand years?" _

Celesta looked around. _Clever bastard is using the walls to bounce his voice off, _she thought. "It takes a long time to explore an entire planet, Beta. Anyway, I'm getting off track." She said as she shook her head. "You can figure out why I did what I did now by yourself."

Alpha, for the first time, felt Beta retract. His chest felt as if a cold liquid had been poured into it and had frozen.

"I tell you all this now for I offer both of you a choice. As you know, I have a genocide to do, have to kill them all to stop the truth from spreading so I will leave now and give you time to run and hide. Perhaps you can survive."

"Where are you going?"

"Manehatten is already abandoned, Cloudsdale is destroyed and Ponyville is ablaze so I am going to Fillydelphia." The princess shook her head before looking at Alpha, who was no longer cloaked and in full view. "I will be back in one hour." She said and teleported away.

Alpha stood outside, watching the embers glow faintly as the fell. He took a deep breath of the smoke-filled air and felt his chest contract as his anger began to rise.

It was quiet, save the crackling fires whose sound echoed off the walls. His heart beat in his ears like a drum and his breathing was short and quiet. He could feel his depression almost come to life and try and take this chance to come back into his already miserably life.

The blue-haired pony shook his head violently to rid himself of the one dangerous thought. He sat there, in the doorway, his eyes half-open. He clenched his teeth as he resisted the urge to lower his head and cry. The hurt pegasi seemed to vibrate from afar, shaking from the hopelessness that was giving its best to take over. His mind was at war; his emotions distraught.

"Beta?"

No response.

_Gotta try harder._

Alpha looked around for Nova. "Beta!"

Nothing.

Alpha growled and stood up, looking around at the fire that had surrounded him. He felt the heat everywhere.

"_We always had the chance to leave; to hide and run. And every time it was presented with us we ignored it."_

"I'm not asking for your permission here. This is my life, and as much as I want to live, this has to end before it gets worse." Beta was quiet. The flames slowly turned blue as Alpha's magic came to life.

"_Fillydelphia, Near the bank." _

The flames grew, licking the second floor's walls and windows of the castle, blackening the once white marble-like stone. The pony's head began to shake visibly as his adrenaline touched his bloodstream.

"_You only gonna have one shot at this."_

The ATP surged through the blood vessels and veins in his muscles and they absorbed the new-found energy like dehydrated plant absorbing water. His heart began to beat faster and faster, doubling before tripling its normal rate. His brain-activity lit up like a Christmas tree, getting ready to acquire every single detail he heard, smelled, saw, and felt.

The fire around him grew to unimaginable lengths in its awesome blue hue. His eyes glowed neon red and blue; his mane and tail, unaffected by gravity, waved in the air.

"_Ready when you are."_

Alpha galloped through the blue flames and took to the air, purposely staying just above the ground. He felt his heart begin to beat slower and smiled as his anger mixed in with the Adrenaline. He felt the intense push that the sonic boom gives when one breaks past it. But instead of teleporting now, Beta waited.

Alpha flew past the cottages; the shockwave behind him easily ripped them to smithereens. The halo of blue was already far in the sky when Beta gave in, helping the pony fly faster by allowing his _own_ rage into his anger.

As the two teleported, the second halo erupted, this time the outer ring was galaxy blue while the inner ring was blood-dark red.

Celestia was already doing what she said she was going to do. The ponies pleaded in a futile attempt to halt the Princess. She had to admit, she did _not_ like what she was doing but she had no choice and continued to blast the group of ponies in front of her to atomized particles. Celestia turned to her left and watched as the infamous DJ caught her gaze, turned tail, and bolted down the street like a young antelope sprinting from a Lion.

The DJ vaulted over bodies and rubble as she galloped for her life, turning left and right as she navigated through the streets void of life. She jumped onto a fallen dumpster then off the wall on her left, clearing the chain-link fence that blocked off entrance to the back of the Bank vault when she felt something snag her neck before losing its grip. The mare landed and looked back at the fence to see her headphones dangling from the barbed-wire on the top. She looked past the headphones to see the pink suit of armor walk towards her.

She panicked and turned around only to meet a wall of concrete. She looked left and right to see that she had ran into a dead end. _Shit._ She tried teleporting and was confused to see that nothing disappeared. The DJ looked up at her horn to see trails of blue sparks falling down directly in front of her eyes. With fear she turned to look behind her to see the pink suit with its white eyes staring into hers. The metallic horn glowed bright as it charged with magic.

The wall behind the mare flashed and the suit of armor stopped briefly and turned its metallic head around to see what caused such a flash. She saw the double halo ring explode, searing the sky and cutting through the clouds.

All she could do was watch as the electronic signal that her brain sent out crawled like a slug to her legs, miles and miles away as she watched him come for her.


	47. Chapter 45

Part 3: Chapter 8: The P.O.R Suit

He could see nearly everything despite the speed he was at. It was so clear, so perfect; it nearly looked as if it was a picture.

He saw the bank wall, behind the mare, made of concrete bricks. The metallic door was welded shut quite recently as it was still slightly glowing from the crude work. The alleyways made from the space between the buildings were blocked. Barricades of corpses stacked high allowed none who could not use magic or fly to pass. The color in the mane, tail, skin, and eyes of those dead began to fade, growing into a dull grey. The cutie marks began to disappear and blood, both the normal red and the rainbow colored, painted the street and the walls.

She was thorough. Each building behind her was empty, void of life. She checked each and every room. She checked closets, bathrooms, cabinets, and under beds. She destroyed each building after searching it, turning it into nothing more than an enormous pile of rubble. The Alicorn was not going to let a single pony live, even if they didn't know the truth.

To either the Equine or Human Eye, it would make one vomit at the sight of what surrounded him. Killing never really justified anything. It did, however, make everything a lot quieter. And the quieter it is, the louder you _seem_ to speak.

He saw the suit of pinkish-white metal standing with its flank facing him. He saw the smaller mare, her front legs open and wide, the biggest smile etched on her face with her eyes closed; embracing the fate that she knew for a fact was futile to escape forever.

He slammed his enemy with full force, denting the white armor. She tore through the wall as if it wasn't even there. It did not slow her down, nor did the two-meter-thick-solid-steel-vault door either. She crashed through the empty lobby that was seemingly glowing from the whitish-orange dull lightbulbs that were in fashion at the time and into the street, skidding as the metal had no grip on the black road.

The glowing blue carbon-grey suit helped the frightened DJ up before calmly walking in the bank vault and looked around. Whoever were hiding inside the bank vault had died, for there the gold bits and gold bars were drenched in blood. The smell of burnt flesh was revolting. Splinters of bone stuck into the walls, spiking the immediate vicinity

Alpha swore as he shook his head. He walked out of the dust cloud into the lobby and looked up to see the white armor stagger out of the demolished cake store.

His head twitched violently as he felt his own anger rise dramatically. Alpha's mane and tail began to glow.

He watched as she limp onto the road and, as if an idea had magically popped into his mind, turned around and walked back inside the bank vault.

Celestia saw stars in her vision and shook her head an attempt to shake them off. She had one hell of a head ache. Her mane whipped side to side as she shook the stun off. Looking left to right, she couldn't see the damn mutant. She heard the sound of metal ripping and ducked as the vault door soared above her head.

The mutant jumped out as her head was down and grabbed hold of her horn and had begun to yank it off when she brought her knee into his underbelly. The mutant let go of the horn and retreated a couple of steps. She was bleeding already. The liquid seeped out of the dented edges of her armor, specifically her flank.

Beta watched as the Elements of Harmony appeared behind her, becoming part of the armor and took over, bracing Alpha from the incredibly powerful beam of magic.

Alpha disagreed and dashed out of the way, flying into an empty building. He heard the sound of hooves close behind and flew as fast as he could, weaving in and out, left and right as he navigated through the abandoned city.

Celestia grinned as she galloped, close behind the fleeing colt. She had to admit, he was agile. He made perfect 90 degree turns without losing any speed.

She could hear him breathe, his breath getting faster and faster and laughed aloud as he made a fatal move, entering a dead end alley at nearly full speed. She knew he was weak; that he couldn't pull up in time or stop himself before hitting the wall.

"_Magic has rotted her brain."_ Beta spoke as he destroyed the brick wall, letting Alpha fly straight through.

"We are playing a game of cat and mouse. Eventually I'm gonna tire out." Alpha replied, banking hard and flying through the city. "And she knows this. We never did learn if the Elements themselves can be broken, did we?"

"_No sadly, and now we don't have the time to search for the answer." _

Alpha sighed, disappointed with himself. "If we win, who will rule?"

"_Us."_

"No offense, but I don't wanna be king and neither should you."

"_Why not?"_

Alpha took a hard left and ducked under a metal beam.

"I consider myself, you included, as a lone wolf; making choices easier when we are the ones to get hurt, not others."

He spied a garage under an empty building whose windows were cracked and broken and the right side had collapsed. He took the risk and, for a quick second, was out in the open in plain sight as he crossed the road and into the garage.

He spun as he closed his left wing, his right scraping across the ceiling, taking out the lights, sending the underground parking lot in total darkness. With the darkness practically cloaking himself, he dimmed the blue light that outlined his head, wings, and body on his armor and flew to the lowest level and hunkered down in the right corner, waiting.

As his heart returned to a normal beat, his ears picked up the sounds around him. He heard what he thought was crying and whispering and looked around.

How the hell did he just notice them?

A group of ponies cowered on his right, hiding underneath the concrete ramp leading up to the next floor.

"_A family, perhaps?_"

The father's temple, an earth stallion, was bleeding quite badly, but had wrapped a piece of cloth around his head. Alpha looked up and listened for any sign that could signify Celestia. After five minutes of being perfectly still, he moved to the group, his head still looking up, listening.

They cowered as he came closer, afraid of the being that advanced towards them.

He knew they could only see the blue outline of the armor and his glowing mane and tail. He, very slowly, raised the brightness until they could realize he wasn't _her_. They still cowered, but were curious as they looked at him, not away from him.

He reached out a hoof towards the stallion but brought it back as he cowered again. Alpha sighed and took off his helmet, revealing his face before trying again, and this time, the stallion allowed Alpha to touch him. Alpha moved his brown mane away from the wound and untied the cloth to see the gaping hole.

"It isn't good, but it isn't fatal, not yet." Alpha whispered. "Your blood has already started to clot, beginning to cease the blood loss." He moved his head as he examined it. "Don't remove the cloth until you are CERTAIN that she," Alpha nodded upward. "Is defeated."

The stallion slowly nodded his head, but continued to stare at Alpha and reached out, grabbing his tail and pulling him back as he turned to leave. "You can't leave. It isn't safe!"

"I'll be fine."

"No you won't! You guards never are! It goes after you guards first! After the guards are dead, it resumes searching for us."

Alpha huffed in amusement. The father had erroneously mistook him as a guard.

"_At this time, considering the fear and horror that they must be feeling, even I would mistake us as a guard._" Beta told Alpha.

"I'm not a guard, and I'll be fine."

A colt's head, no older than fourteen, popped out from the group. "If you aren't a guard, where did you get that armor?!"

Alpha looked at himself then to the colt. "Family Heirloom." He answered, half-lying.

"Doubt it." The brown colt replied.

"Button Mash!" The father spoke out, ridiculing his son. "I'm sorry. Do you know what _is_ happening!?"

Alpha looked up, listening. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I have a family!" He spoke out, his voice echoing in the underground garage. "You got to help us!"

Alpha instinctively cloaked himself and the family and listened for Celestia.

It was dead quiet, except for the five heartbeats, excluding his own. His adrenaline combined with fear enhanced his hearing and he was certain he could hear the heart beat echo in the dark room.

He could almost _feel_ the echo.

He uncloaked only the father and himself, muffling the other four. "I got a place…a safe haven from her. How-"

"We'll go." He said, cutting him off.

"I'm not done talking. There will be changelings there."

His eyes widened with fear.

"Don't worry; they are allies in this war. Are you ready?"

He nodded his head and they both disappeared in a blinding flash of blue light.

The mountain was practically swarmed with changelings, some chirping, others in the air, most teleporting. It all fell silent as they looked at the family of ponies with the company of a metallic glowing blue suit. Alpha shook his head to see more than 500 identical copies of himself, all staring at him.

"Where is our Queen?" "Where is Chrysalis?" "Where you successful?" "Did you win?" "Is Celestia Dead?" The questions were overwhelming and Alpha felt a strong urge to cover his ears and teleport away. Instead, he took a deep breath and relaxed his fast-beating heart.

"Beta, how many suits of armor are in your vault?" He asked once he was calm enough to think on other things.

"_There is literally a factory below us. The rock beneath us is littered with iron and coal. Technically, the factory, composed of empty suits, has been making suits since we came here four years ago." _

"Can you un-bond with me and bond with a suit?"

"_Yeah, why?"_

Alpha pushed through the crowd and galloped towards the opened vault. "Get the suits to equip themselves on the changelings, all of them. Make a password or fail-safe so we can control and stop the changelings if they go against us."

The suits came to life as their creator entered. Beta left Alpha and bonded with his suit, the glowing outline changing red while another suit's wing came apart and replaced the damaged metallic feathers on Alpha's brace with its own. The skylights above let the light of the sun enter the room, which caught the dust and lit up the room.

The suits activated one by one, their heads raising and straightening. They looked at the crowd of changelings and flew towards them. Each suit picked a changeling and there was a flurry of flying pieces of metal as the suits armored the changelings.

"_Estefani, change failsafe protocols."_ Beta spoke out as he appeared next to Alpha.

"Error. Authorization failure. Identify your Species, Mutant type, First name, Number, and Date of birth." The suit's mechanical voice spoke out.

"_Does it hurt? Your wing?"_

Alpha glanced at the newly replaced feathers. "Not really. Born on a leap year?"

"_Mhm. The other colts used to tease me when I was 16 by telling me I was actually four and I should go back to pre-school where I belong."_

"That doesn't seem that bad."

"_It wasn't. It was just fucking annoying after the 50__th__ fucking time."_

"Authorization accepted." The tone seemed cheerful. "Welcome Back, Beta." His suit began to pulsate Red and Black.

"_Estefani, go to Library of Known Species." _

"Changing source, stand by. Source is now: Library of Known Species."

"_Species Changeling is in the Library, Correct?"_

"Correct."

"_Edit Failsafe Protocol for Species Armor."_

"Acknowledged, Accessing failsafe protocol. Protocol accessed, please speak changes."

"_If Species Changeling attacks Innocent Species of Earth Pony, Pegasus Pony, Unicorn Pony, or Mutant pony, lockdown suit. Authorization codes no longer active. Unlock only to Brain Pattern, Magic pattern and Mutant Brain and Blood Pattern of Suit designated Alpha and Suit designated Beta if next to Locked suit. Do not unlock if Brain Pattern, Magic Pattern, and Mutant Brain Pattern of Pegasus Mutant designated Alpha or Earth Pony Mutant designated Beta is inside Locked Suit. Confirm Change."_

The suit was silent as Alpha stared at Beta. For Alpha, it sounded as if Beta was speaking in an unknown language. _"What?"_

"Just watchin' the owner of _Estefani_ configure the rules of the legendary armor." Alpha replied with a smile.

Beta's metallic helmet nodded in response.

"Change Confirmed. Species Changeling Suit will now lock down, restricting all types of movement if previous attack is against any innocent pony or mutant pony species. Unlock suit only if Brain, Magic, and Mutant Brain Pattern of Suit and Pegasus Mutant Pony designated Alpha and Brain, Magic, and Mutant Pattern of Suit and Earth Mutant Pony designated Beta are next to locked suit. Confirm?"

"_Confirmed."_

"Failsafe Protocol for Suit Species Changeling overridden and accepted. Anything else?"

Beta looked at Alpha and watched as Alpha turned around and examined an un-active suit's armored horn. He stared at it and began to feel the empty horn brace on his forehead. "Can I remove this?" He asked, looking at Beta

"_The Horn?"_

He nodded.

"_Yeah, you just need authorization from your suit." _

"How do I gain that?"

Beta fell silent, thinking.

"Creator Beta, would you like anything else or shall I log out?" The robotic monotone voice of the suit spoke out.

"_Estefani, what is the status of the POR suit?"_

"The suit was destroyed when you were defeated but was rebuilt in year 289 of the Lunar Calendar. Status is Green. The suit is ready for active usage."

"What is POR?"

"_Pony of Rage." _

Alpha lifted an eyebrow.

The suit appeared beside Beta. Unlike the _Estefanias_ Alpha have seen, this one was scratched and dented. It had two metallic wings that sprouted outwards on the back. They were made with precision and accuracy, but exposure to time and natural elements had taken its toll on the suit. The metal was rusty and there was a faint tinge of maroon that stained the orange rust. The wings were ragged instead of the sharp curved metal it once was.

Beta's suit deactivated as he left and bonded with the POR suit. It did not glow like the others nor activate but instead came to life. The metal moved and the rust chipped off, piling underneath the armor.

With the rust coming off, Alpha made out the glowing red eye sockets and heard an eerie exhale. He heard the suit inhale, the rust falling off of the moving metal, and heard it exhale again. It breathed in and out loudly, the metal slightly creaking as they began to move.

"Beta?" Alpha asked out, hesitantly.

The rusty suit nodded.

"Are you alright?"

It nodded again and extended its front legs then its hind legs then its wings; stretching. The wings struggled for a moment before the metallic feathers broke free of the rust and extending to full length. They were easily as big as Alpha's and he watched with both fear and awe as the helmet tilted left then right before turning to face him.

"_It's been a long time since I've been in this suit." _Beta spoke. His voice sounded nearly identical to his _Estefania's_. He shook violently as he shook off the remaining rust.

"I thought you said that Celestia salvaged the left over parts."

"_She did but she used them as a model as she created her own version. The suit re-activated and, realizing I was dead, escaped and ran off." _

Alpha was silent as he processed what he was witnessing. "So that's the suit you used when you were alive."

Beta nodded.

"Why use it now?"

Beta walked past his deactivated _Estefania_ and Alpha and walked to the wall of Changelings, all watching and listening.

"_Your Queen is dead, slaughtered by the so called 'Princess of Equestria'. Princess Luna, King Shining Armor, and Queen Candance have also been slaughtered by this Princess." _ He paused as he walked into the crowd. _"I know you do not like me, that you hate and despise me. You have the right to do so, but currently Celestia is trying to restart history, reset it. To do this, she is going to the populated cities scattered across Equestria and is actively hunting and killing all she finds."_

"_All I need from you is one simple favor. Go to the remaining cities and search for any survivors and bring them here!" _He stomped his hoof on the ground for emphasis. _"This is our kingdom. This is our home. We all have been living here for four years and know this mountain as if it were our cutie marks. This place is the only safe haven against Celestia. She cannot penetrate this mountain; she cannot enter nor destroy this place." _He took a deep breath. _"If you want to be treated like the pony you used to be before your incident and not the monsters that have no soul, then this is the only time to prove that you deserve to be treated as such."_

The changelings glanced at each other. They nodded their heads in agreement before ten changelings rose into the air. They pointed hooves and barked orders in high pitched squeaks that reminded Alpha of the bats he would listen to at night after he escaped from the factory.

Beta glanced to his side to see Alpha nodding. "Well spoken."

"_It sounded too cliché." _

"It probably was, but then again, it was needed to be said."

Beta extended his new wings and aligned the feathers into a smooth, slick curve. _"I'm an earth pony. I am not meant to fly."_ Alpha nodded as he watched the wings turn into wing-like knives. Once done, Beta relaxed his 'wings' and joined Alpha as he watched the changelings order others. _"Estefani, armor them up."_

Alpha glanced at Beta, confused to what he said. Beta tilted his head and shrugged in response. He was about to respond when he heard the changelings gasp as the metal from the tomb flew out and equipped themselves on them. Alpha smiled within his helmet.

"_Let's go find us a princess." _


	48. Chapter 46

Part 3: Chapter 9: Another Heartbeat

The Alicorn casually strolled through the empty streets, seemingly oblivious to the puddles beneath her hooves. She stopped by an abandoned carriage and looked to the sky.

It was midday; white fluffy clouds slowly crawled above the sky, untouched by the chaos below. The sky was incredibly blue and she could not stop herself from taking a breather. She took this time to take off her helmet and take a breather, opening the door of the carriage and placing the bloodied helmet inside. She could almost smell the iron in the liquid the pooled on the cement and painted the walls. She could certainly taste it. The memories of laughter and happiness rushed into her mind, blinding her senses.

She opened her eyes and looked at her reflection on the blood-stained window and_ thought_ she saw a friend.

"Hey, Lu-" She stopped herself cold, remembering the recent event that took place with her sister.

Celestia closed her eyes and shook her head, returning to the memories.

A loud crack ripped her out of this rare blissful state she was experiencing. She whipped around, her helmet falling to the ground. She watched several spells flew past, impacting and taking chunks out of the concrete wall behind her. Ignoring the helmet, she walked into the open, revealing herself. A gasp echoed in the silence as her secret was revealed.

She heard the whizzing before she even saw the sickly green spell and easily sidestepped to the left, dodging the attack.

_Changelings,_ she thought. _I should've known that taking out their queen wouldn't be enough to drive them away._

Out in the open road, she was alone. Her thoughts began to grow and she walked off, forgetting about the helmet. The smoke from the burning buildings created a smoggy fog that engulfed the city, reducing visibility severally. The princess paused and turned around to walk back to the carriage only to realize she couldn't see the carriage any longer.

"Right…" Celestia spoke aloud to herself uneasily as she looked around, and resumed hunting.

She knew she was walking in circles. She already walked past the burning bank three times already and yet…

"I don't know…" She spoke as she paused in front of the building. "It could be…" The Alicorn cautiously walked in, the sound of broken glass crackling beneath her hooves. The bank vault was intact and in place. "Odd. I swear he threw it at me."

Although it made her sound insane, she found her own voice comforting. She kept herself company, although the though made her feel crazy.

She tapped twice on the steel vault, making sure it was real. She backed up and opened the vault door, revealing those hiding within. She recognized only a few.

Rarity was in the far right corner, softly crying, her purple mane covered in dust. Derpy was in the near left corner, Dinky huddling behind her. Spitfire and Soarin were in the far left while a few changelings were hiding on her right. Celestia looked at Spitfire and could almost see the betrayal in her eyes.

"History needs to be restored. Your kind has had its time, and now has come for the new breed of ponies to live." Celestia spoke out softly, answering their pleas before they began to speak. She closed her eyes as Dinky began to cry.

The two mutants appeared from thin air with a loud crack that would temporarily deafen any pony within a three meter radius. They looked around, their armor glowing; one red, one blue. Without making a sound, one nodded to the other and they began to walk through the smog, searching. The smog reduced their visibility and the two stayed closed together, peering over their shoulder every few minutes, making sure the other was close behind.

He heard the buzzing of insect wings as three changelings landed behind them, joining the group.

Alpha was about to break silence when the screams of ponies echoed throughout the ghost-town. The sound waves bounced off the buildings, scattering as they hit the obstacles and split apart. The sound slowly eased and as Alpha was about to resume walking, it returned.

"_The sound must be bouncing off the buildings. It's gonna echo for a while." _

The suit nodded in agreement. He looked over his shoulder at the changelings. "How many of you are here?"

One responded in a high pitched chirp before realizing that neither Alpha nor Beta could understand. It stopped halfway through as its horn began to glow. Numbers appeared next to the changeling, colored in a radioactive green; 50.

"Take 20 and surround the city in the air. Take another 25 and begin searching the buildings in groups of five. Cloak yourselves. If you find any survivors, take them back to the mountain."

Two of the three nodded and took to the air, leaving one changeling with the mutants.

"Take the four remaining changelings and go to the remaining cities and help the others evacuate every pony else."

It nodded and took to the air like his friends, leaving the mutants alone again. Alpha turned to Beta, who was looking the opposite way into the smog. "Let's go." Beta began to walk without responding, leaving Alpha to trot to his side and walk at his pace, searching.

Beta, like Alpha, began to subconsciously extend and retract his metallic wings. He was nervous, and Alpha knew it. He couldn't blame him though, he was nervous too. How couldn't he be? The fact that he knew he could die any second now freaked him out. Not like he hadn't felt this fear before, he has, but unlike the other times, Beta was also nervous, which made Alpha even more cautious.

It was now night time. The two glowing _Estefanias_ were in the middle of the road, their hooves stained in the red viscous liquid. The smog had slowly dispersed over the day and the continuous screams were enough for them to know that Celestia was still in the city, but they were now less frequent. Which only meant one thing.

Celestia's search was coming to an end.

The sound of their hooves hitting the ground echoed loudly.

"_I do not like this." _Beta said, coming to a halt at the four-way intersection.

"Everypony's gone. Most are dead, yeah, but I never heard anything _this_ quiet. The Factory at night with everything powered down was louder than this." Alpha agreed. As if by natural instinct, he stopped and turned around, listening for anything different.

"_Anything?" _

Alpha glanced to the left and looked over the road. The mutant removed his helmet, lowered his head, closed his eyes, slowed his breathing as best he could and stayed perfectly still, directing all his energy to his hearing.

Beta knew Alpha had a keen ear. In the Factory, he always was the first to hear the sound of a guard's heavy breathing. He walked, trying to make as little noise as possible, up to Alpha and watched with some amount of amusement and curiosity as he watched the mutant's ears flick left and right ever so slightly, picking up the sound waves.

Alpha could hear _everything;_ the lightbulb down the street buzzing as electricity coursed through it, the faint hum of flies hovering above the open flesh and blood, the slow sizzling of an ember floating by, the faint pounding of a-

"Heart beat." He muttered, opening his eyes and looking around.

Beta looked up at him. _"What?"_

He put his helmet back on, and without answering Beta, cautiously walked down the street on his left. Beta watched for a few seconds before following.

"_What do you hear?"_ he whispered.

Alpha reduced the glowing light on his suit to 25%, the same brightness of the tips of a dying flame, and kept on walking. "Heartbeat."

The Pony of Rage extended its wing-like knives and bent them so that they were almost parallel to his back.

"I don't think it's her."

"_How can you know that?" _Beta snapped back.

"It sounded as if there were more than three separate heartbeats. If it was her, there would only be one, and it wouldn't be beating quickly. This way." Alpha moved ahead of Beta and to the right. He heard the buzzing of the light above him grow louder before it burned out. The rest of the lights on the street followed suit.

"_Well, at least we know where Celestia is at." _

Alpha increased the glowing light to 40% and walked, with Beta behind him, up to the entrance of a building; a library. Its cedar door was not gone, but was everywhere at once - splinters dotted the immediate vicinity. "There is more than ten in here."

"_You can hear them? Are you sure it's not yours or mine?" _

"I know it's not my heartbeat and you don't have a heart."

The PoR shrugged as Alpha entered and backed him up.

The library smelled of the distinct smell that an old book would have. It was dark but the two walked on, glancing once in a while at the bookshelves. Alpha's suit, excluding the eye sockets, was no longer glowing.

Two pairs of glowing eyes seemingly floated as the two searched for the source of heartbeats. A pair of red eyes turned left and walked in between two shelves, while the pair of blue eyes took to the air, flying above the bookshelves as quiet as an Owl hunting for prey.

"Is it her?" She asked.

"I don't know." He replied. "It doesn't look like her."

"I can't believe she would do this."

Alpha stopped nearly at once and landed on top of the nearest shelf when he heard the question and looked around. He heard more whispering and spun. He tilted his ears, the metal surrounding them retreated, revealing the white soft ears.

He began to walk the other way, jumping from one shelf to another, avoiding the ground. "B," He whispered and looked around.

The pair of red glowing eyes met his.

"It's looking for us." She spoke.

"No shit Sherlock."

Alpha pointed down and cloaked himself. Beta nodded and made his way to Alpha's position.

"Can you see it?" The other asked.

"No."

Alpha jumped to the next shelf and peered over the edge to see a group of school-ponies. He turned around and jumped down to the floor, turned right, then right again, exiting his corridor and entering theirs.

"Where is it?"

"I don't know, I think it's gone."

Alpha uncloaked himself. "I'm not gone yet."

The group spun around. The group consisted of several jockeys, a few mares and two teachers, one mare, one stallion. They stared in fear and horror at the seemingly floating pair of blue glowing eyes.

"Are you a spirit?"

The "spirit" activated his suit's lights, but kept it on low brightness. "No."

"What are you?"

"A mutant. Name's Alpha."

The teachers moved themselves so they stood between Alpha and the students. "Is she still out there?" One of the jocks asked.

Alpha nodded. "Celestia has been actively hunting for a full day now."

"Why is she killing everypony?"

Alpha noticed the red glowing set of eyes behind the group. He looked to the teachers. "Any of you a history teacher?"

The mare nodded. "I am."

"Remember the Legend of Beta?"

She nodded again.

"Well, see those two red glowing eyes behind you? That's him."

All but the teachers turned around to face the living legend.

"Two days ago, we attacked Canterlot to stop Celestia." Alpha explained.

"Why?"

"_Rainbow Factory, Assassination of King Sombra, Mass Genocide of Mutants in 100 of the lunar calendar." _Beta explained.

"But she didn't do any of that."

"_Trust me; there is a lot that she doesn't tell."_

"Why should we trust you?"

"_You shouldn't trust me. You should trust Alpha."_

They all turned to look at the suit.

"We have a safe haven, a hollow mountain that we are sending survivors to if we find any." Alpha spoke.

"Who's 'we'?"

"I, Beta, and the rest of the Changelings."

The mare was stunned. "We are not going with you."

"_Unless you want to die by Celestia's doing, you are coming with us, all of you." _

"And what if we decline?"

"_Well, first off ma'am," _Beta spoke as he moved into the group. The students moved away, trying not to touch the legend that they were all told would kill them if given the chance. _"You don't choose what everyone does now. What you do will impact your life, not anypony else in your group. Those who want to live can come with us; those who want to see how long they can live in fear from Celestia can stay here and wait for the inevitable." _

"Are you threatening us?" The stallion spoke.

"_A library is a good place to hide, but will fall when the fire reaches it. Huh?" _Beta continued, before he noticed that the teacher spoke.

Alpha shook his head, before removing his helmet, revealing his face. "All we are here for is Celestia; to end this genocidal campaign that she has begun."

The mare lowered her head and gave up. There was no way she could argue with somepony that was willing to bring them to a safe haven, even if the _bully_ was actually talking. "Fine, we'll go with you."

Beta nodded. _"Everypony, grab a hold of the pony next to you, and whatever you do, don't let go."_ He turned to the mare. _"And by the way, I am no bully."_ And teleported.

* * *

Right, so I think I should mention (This isn't part of the story, just a heads up for whoever is reading this) My computer is...having hard times connecting and surfing the web. So, I'm sorry if these aren't released every friday, I'm trying to work with what I have.


	49. Chapter 47

Chapter 10: Kill the other.

The colt was alone; a first in what, six, seven years?

He was a stallion now, aged 18. He felt nothing different besides the curiosity urge to open a book and read it.

His mind was calm. The pony removed his helmet, scratched the corners of his eyes and looked around. He heard what was the occasional rat scattering and scurrying away, grabbing what flesh and food it could find and run away from the danger it saw. The Pegasus watched, with some amusement I might add, a small white mouse that scurried into the light that his suit gave off. It searched, frantic, for food. It turned left then right, and then moved a couple inches before repeating. _Cautious but ready. _

There was nothing wrong with being afraid, but it bugged him. He was fine with working against his will like in the Factory, but being afraid all the time; being on edge, constantly looking over your shoulder to make sure you weren't being followed, even with another entity like Beta or Delta watching over you. It was exhausting, both on the soul, on the mind and on the body. Eventually-

"Eventually, you give up."

"I know that."

Physically, he was alone, except for the rats. Mentally though…

"You couldn't keep your mouth shut, couldn't you?"

"It's not my fault that I'm so damn curious."

"But it is! It's our fault!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Are you?"

"No."

"Why did you apologize then!?"

"What did you want me to say? Fuck you, I wanna do what I wanna do?!"

"No…"

"Exactly, so I apologized."

"It didn't really do anything."

He sighed. "Fuck you."

"That's not nice."

"That was the point."

He talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, and talked. He talked until there was absolutely nothing to talk about; he talked until his mind was blank and numb then talked some more.

Beta had teleported in silently upon one of the giant bookshelves and watched his friend talk to himself. He never judged him, but never really had an opinion on him either. He used what he got, never complained, always aiming at her.

He knew that Alpha wasn't in any danger and used the time to check his armor for any dents or scratches. He removed his helmet, and scratched his ear. Picking up the helmet, he turned it around and examined it.

"It suits you."

Beta looked down at the pair of glowing blue eyes. _"I was what, eleven, when I made the helmet?"_

"Why are you asking me?"

"_I'm not, I'm asking myself."_

The ghost and stallion stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak. A rat scurried by and both turned to look at the bottle rolling on the floor.

"What?"

"_I thought it would look evil."_

Alpha looked back at Beta.

"Ok…?"

"_Does it?"_

"Does it _what?"_

Beta slipped the helmet back on and looked at Alpha. _"Does it look evil?"_

"I've never been afraid of you, so I don't know."

Beta walked down the vertical side of the bookshelf. _"Why?"_

"We both know why. I told you in the factory after you shattered that mirror."

"_You remember that?"_

"How could I forget?"

Screams echoed throughout the library. Both cloaked themselves.

"What part of your suit is vulnerable? What part can be considered as StarGazers heel?" Alpha whispered.

Besides the sound of hooves walking on the floor above them, silence was the only thing Alpha heard.

"_The wings, the wings are its StarGazer's heel!"_

The hooves began to skip. A deep thud reverberated throughout.

"_It's her."_

"No shit."

The face of the mare slowly eased into view, her neon gravity-defying mane glowing. The Rainbow liquid stained her white muzzle. The steel-colored _Estefani_ pulsated with light as it absorbed the newfound energy.

"I got a lesson for the both of you, my subjects…" her smooth voice pierced the silence. It almost seemed to be…calm. The smell of cedar and paper burning upstairs filled her nostrils.

One colt slowly, cautiously, retreated into the darkness. The other, however, faced his fear.

"Fine." Alpha said. "Teach us." He took off in a sprint, charging her.

His heart began to beat faster and faster as he charged his opponent, who had turned to face him. He hopped slightly into the air and hit the ground with the smooth metallic armor underneath his hoof. Skidding across the ground, Alpha lifted his left protected wing up into the air. With a sharp jab into the floor, he whipped around, the wing already past fatal velocity. She countered, spinning as well.

The two mythical metallic wings struck, sparking when they hit.

Uneven Strength. Unmeasurable Power. Both with the same goal.

Kill the other.


	50. Chapter 48

Part 3: Chapter Eleven: _Defiance. Realization. Acceptance. Forgiveness._

The figure stood there, all black save the blood-stained appendage on his left. A streak of blood that went in the direction opposite he was facing revealed the location of the wing. He stood there, statue-like, as the adrenaline coursed through his body. He couldn't, for a moment, breathe. The stallion stood there, blood dropping from his left side and looked down at his missing wing._ I should feel pain, shouldn't I? _

His blue mane began to slowly loose its color as he began to feel more and more tired.

In an instant, what was calm became strikingly clear. He felt as if his wing was warm before the feeling of somepony ripped his wing as if it was paper. All he could do is look up at the attacker, not in fear, but in horror as within his mind, a vial of orange liquid that he knew instantly as his mental representation of _Defiance_ poured itself into a another vial, this time much larger, with a scotch-tapped label reading _Magic._

"_Defiant to all lies that were told to him to stop him from searching for the actual truth."_ The stunned Stallion spoke to himself quietly.

Beta lashed out from within the shade, jumping over the Princess. His wings extended, scraping across the metal, cutting deep in the skin. He landed on the ground and moved until he was in between Alpha and Celestia. With his back facing the stunned stallion, he widened his stance and slowly extended both wings, growling like a wolf protecting its wounded Alpha male.

"_You will not touch him."_ Beta's helmet opened as he armored up his wings. His pupils were wide, blacking out his eyes. His mane was blood-red and pulsating violently.

Celestia shrugged off the wound as if it was just a scratch. "So animal like, you are. Have the thought that you were ever the bully crossed your simple mind?" She waited for an answer, and while waiting watched as his suit began to glow red.

She closed her eyes, her head tilting back and opened her mouth, just beginning to speak when he took charged. His anger was more than enough capable of being a replacement for energy. Breaking the barrier of _light _in the few milliseconds after he charged, he moved his shoulder until it had touched the area just above where her legs became her chest, felt the momentum began to transfer from his body to hers and began to push as hard as he possibly could.

Through concrete-reinforced wall after concrete-reinforced wall, he pushed her through. He was a tank; his fuel untapped and unexplored emotion; his engine, alive and at full capacity, absorbing its new energy source like a black hole absorbs all matter within its dense and vast gravity; his treads, clean and replaced, ready to traverse across all known and unknown land; his barrel, empty and ready, eager to fire its load non-stop for an eternity; his armor, protecting his soul, lighter than dragon's scale, stronger than his will to end the life of his enemy.

Through block after block, wall after wall, Beta continued to push Celestia until there were no more walls too push through. He had reached the edge of the city and threw her back as he stopped, watching her tumble, flipping over and over until she reached a slow halt. His eyes tracked the figure as it stood up, stretching its wings and legs before tilting its head left and right.

Alpha stood there, trembling in pain and anger as he telepathically healed his wing, the skin stretching until it covered the torn blood vessels and bone. He closed his eyes, took a breath and growled. He moved slowly, turning to look at his appendage; laying on floor, dead and useless. His pupils grew smaller as the light from the disintegrating wing tried it's best to blind him.

He was confused. Why? Why did she have to take off his wing? Why not kill him and end it once and for all? She had her chance, why not use it?

Within his mind, another vial appeared, the liquid within green, this time _Realization_ was written on the scotch-tapped label.

"_The Realization that there was indeed a truth and not some idea or hint."_ The mutant spoke as he calmed himself down, his eyes closed, watching the vial pour its green liquid into the bottle.

The layers of _Estefani_ began to flutter, move about as if hovering in air and a small breeze pushed them out of their designated areas, unable to organize themselves due to the unstable emotions.

Celestia, angered, took off at once like a racing horse takes off at once after the gate opens. Her horn glowed vibrant colors, shooting off spells like no other. Beta took off the other way, dodging spells here and there, running like a rat flees from the cat behind. He dug his heels into the concrete and changed his direction, turning sharply to the left, Celestia close behind.

Beta acted on impulse rather than actual thought. No longer bound to the living, he tripped constantly as he remembered how to run and fight. Once steady and remembering how to run correctly, he knocked down trashcans, hoping to buy himself some time.

Celestia was no longer playing games and raced after her opponent. Her wings allowed her to turn on a dime when needed, her legs allowed her to gain speed when used. She ducked under clothes lines and cut corners without losing speed.

He ran and ran, faster and faster, through building and ruins. He took another sharp corner and grasped the bottom of the light pole and ripped it off. With a deft move, he stood up, holding the light pole like a baseball bat and swung as the Alicorn entered his view, blind striking her. Wasting no time, he dropped the pole and took off down the street, taking a right on 21st, blazing through 60th, turning a left on 180th. He eyed a closed and deserted construction site, dug his right armored hoof into the concrete, causing him to turn sharply and ran _through_ the chain linked fence.

He rudely stopped on the gravel and looked up at the half-finished skyscraper, its skeleton had only been finished before _she_ appeared. He looked back for a quick second before looking back up at the unfinished skyscraper.

With a slow, calming breath, Beta collected his thoughts and, with his magic, began to transform the building skeleton.

Alpha stayed where he was, waiting as the metal from his wing arranged themselves on his appendage. The books from the shelves floated mid-air. Their pages flipped to next as the Colt began to practically inhale the knowledge around him. With Beta no longer around, Alpha was able to cross the wall that Beta had constantly put on his magic, stopping him from exploring his full mutant abilities.

He closed his eyes and watched as another vial appeared, labeled _Acceptance_. Its liquid white, poured into the bottle of mixing emotions. The liquids within did not mix colors with each other though, but stayed together.

"_Accepting the fact that the truth is what I was searching for, despite all other emotions and lies told to me by friends and by enemies."_ Alpha spoke to himself.

As Alpha began to learn quickly what he had missed and what had actually happened, he was no longer confused to why Celestia kept what he knew hidden. She kept what he knew hidden to prevent fear and chaos from spreading throughout Equestria, although he disagreed completely that such knowledge should not be kept from the public.

His metallic counterpart had finished forming the outline of the wing and begun to create interior and exterior of it, creating the pocket for the bone, injecting the metallic and magnetic properties so it would stay with the wing in flight and combat.

The stallion sighed and looked around. He needed more metal, any metal, to complete his wing. He glanced at the unfinished design and, with a half-formed thought, requested another _Estefania_ from the mountain.

Within only a few seconds, the empty suit crashed through the two story building and landed a couple of meters away from Alpha. Its un-lit head turned to look at Alpha, then at his wing, before nodding and disassembling, giving itself to him. The blue-maned stallion looked away, almost as if embarrassed, as the scraps and fragments of the suit flew to his wing, connecting, fusing, and combining with each other as they created his wing.

He noticed his helmet beside him and picked it up, removing the horn with ease. The helmet, which was designed to protect his head, reduced his hearing and field of vision. Created and made using the mythological _Dragon Metal_, it was lightweight and damage-worthy.

"Helluva trade off if you ask me." He muttered as he looked over the helmet. "I basically have full control over the suit…so can I…" He trailed off in mid-though as he reached for the armored ear-plate and, slowly, peeled the plate off like an orange peel. The helmet floated away as he focused on the armored ear section and, with his hoof, parted the inside, allowing sound to enter into his ear canal. The helmet formed into a mirror, another subconscious thought, as he placed the newly formed ear section onto his white ear, slipping it on like a glove. The mirror reverted to its original helmet and slowly encased itself around his head, connecting with the newly formed section.

With a smile, Alpha closed his eyes and nodded, confirming the suit's permission to rearrange the other ear. With a click and a somewhat painful pinch, the wing had completed itself and had begun final adjustments; sharpening the wings, tilting the wing's frame, connecting the Dark Magic inside the wing with Alpha's bond with Beta. Alpha felt the wing connect to his soul. With a glance, he flexed the wing and smiled within the helmet as the wing glowed a cool sky-blue along with the rest of his suit. He giggled softly, his voice cracking and high-pitched.

A screech of metal bending beyond its limits echoed throughout the city of Manehatten, calling Alpha out of his 'cave' and into the streets only to look to his right to see his ghostly friend on the ground, exhausted and defeated, Celestia only a few blocks behind. Behind her crashed the skeleton of the skyscraper, all bent and broken, twisted in horrendous and nightmarish ways.

The sun was rising again _without_ her help. Her mane was glowing in its neon rainbow like state the distinct rainbow-like liquid stained her mouth and her eyes glowed bright. She trotted slowly towards him and for good reason. Although Beta was defeated, he wasn't out. The rattlesnake's head could still, if lucky, deliver a fatal bite, filled with toxic venom to the unsuspecting victim that decided to play with the head thinking it was dead. She would wait for him to die again, and this time, finish off Alpha.

The stallion stood its ground and eyed the legendary elements that gleamed in the sunlight that fused with the crown that she wore any day every day. They glowed bright as they charged up with the magic of Friendship.

He still stood his ground, waiting. His wings were extended, its feathers sharp, new, and ready. His armor was replaced and renewed, ready for the inevitable attack.

His rage, to his surprise, faded and he closed his eyes only to see one final vial appear, labeled _Forgiveness_, for he had forgiven Celestia of what she had did. It poured its contents into the bottle. Within his mind, the cap appeared, closed the bottle and shook the contents within, combining the emotions into one single liquid. This bottle exploded within Alpha, causing this new found magic to surge through his every blood vessel and vein, surrounding and engulfing every neuron, atom, and iota that made him up, which practically caused Alpha to freeze in place, unable to move.

Beta's ghost faded away allowing Celestia to attack Alpha, unloading the six beams of the Magic of Friendship upon Alpha. She watched with satisfaction as his armor heated up and faded away, allowing the magic to hit Alpha directly.

This magic, this new form of magic that Alpha had created using, formed a shield that prevented the fatal magic of Friendship to hit him. The beam shattered upon impact, sending shards and fragments scattering on either side of the shield. They impacted on the building and the library, slicing through the matter with ease. The beam itself began to tremble, began to shake as Alpha opened his eyes and, with a grin, began to advance on Celestia.

His head twitched from the power of his magic and, without his knowledge, a mark appeared on his flank. His eyes flashed white as he used his newfound magic, forcing the oncoming beam to fragment and shatter, causing the beam to cease.

Taking his chance, Alpha lunged for the princess, covering meters within fractions of seconds, jabbing her underbelly hard, easily crushing her ribs. He slid under the Alicorn with his back on the ground, and kicked his left hind leg at her right hind leg, breaking the bone, causing it to stick out of the skin. He looked up, watching as the Alicorn's belly slowly move out of his field of view and flapped his wings, causing him to jump into the sky and spun to face the backside of Celestia, her head just beginning to turn and look at him.

She watched as the stallion hovered in the air, his wings open but not flapping. Above him sat the ever growing ball of white magic and she squinted her eyes shut as he brought the ball of light onto her and felt the magic rip away her armor.


	51. Chapter 49

Part 3: Chapter 12: The End

Celestia stood where she last was, alive, naked of armor. She opened one eye then the other, surprised that she was still alive. She checked herself and gave a sigh of relief that both her horns and wings were connected and still intact, although her horn had failed to respond to a small test of magic. Slowly she turned her head around, her neck stinging as it reached the point of no return, and gazed in awe at the stallion behind her.

He was not angry, not in the slightest, nor did he feel any need for revenge. He breathed normally; calm but awake and aware. His armor, on the other hoof, had taken the brunt of the magic and was glowing red from the heat of the use of the raw, unknown magic. Either he did not feel the pain of the metal searing his flesh or it was not actually touching his coat.

He stayed in place, hovering about three to four feet off the ground. He was facing her with his metallic wings open but still. His helmet, all charred and dented, lied on the street in pieces. His eyes were glowing blue, his mane and tail following suite. The Stallion's face was strangely calm. He wasn't smiling nor frowning, but a thin line, parallel to the street, etched where his lips would have been.

Alpha tilted his head to the right, looking past Celestia at the inactive P.O.R and frowned, closed his eyes and nodded, accepting that who he considered both a father-figure and a close friend had finally passed away. He opened his eyes and focused on Celestia, who had now turned around to face him, her crown by her hooves. He lowered himself to the ground and gazed upon the crown.

Alpha looked up at Celestia, who was wheezing due to the punctured lung. Without losing eye contact, he healed her lung and rib before lifting the crown into the air and gently placing it on her head.

Celestia, not wanting to destroy her chance at survival, stayed quiet. She watched as he took a deep breath and spoke. He was no longer passive but much assertive, unafraid, and made his point as clear as an open window. Once he finished talking, she nodded, and offered the crown in her surrender.

Alpha looked at the crown, waved his hoof the right, denying the crown to Celestia's surprise. "Your crown means nothing to me. It is not mine but yours as a birth right, so you may keep it until you are removed from your position. Your magic, however, has been removed." Five changelings in armor landed behind Alpha. "You will be escorted by the changelings until further notice, Your Highness."

Celestia could do nothing but nod her head and accept the fact that she had lost. She extended her wings and took to the air, heading to rebuild her castle. Four of the changelings took after her, escorting, protecting, and keeping the Princess in sight, Alpha held the last one down with his metallic wing. He turned and looked at the pink-fanged changeling.

"If she tries to escape or attack your squad, bite her." Alpha smiled as he watched Carl do a little jig in joy before nodding and taking off to catch up with his squad. He looked at the ruins and the smoke, noticing the heads popping out from the blackness and broken buildings as the survivors of the onslaught journeyed out to see their world safe.

As those who lived began to come out of the safety of their hiding spots and searched for lost family members and friends, Alpha walked to the inactive Pony of Rage and knelt down by it for examination. Beta was certainly no longer in his suit, but the suit, noticing Alpha's presence, activated and stood up, facing him.

Alpha felt his heart soar then drop as he realized that the suit was just acting on the commands that it was programmed to do rather than actually being used by his friend. He lowered his head in disappointment.

"WAITING FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS." The suit's old speaker blurted out.

He looked up at the suit with a frown upon his face. He stared off into space, his mind running and was silent for a bit.

"WAITING FOR-"

"Go to the mountain." Alpha interrupted, snapping out of the daydream. "Repair all broken and damaged…parts and de-activate until further commands."

The suit nodded in reply and teleported to the mountain, leaving the stallion alone.

Alpha sat down, closed his eyes and briefly rested.

The survivors had noticed the armored Stallion as soon as they exited their hiding spots and, in caution, gave him his space but crowded around him. Soon enough, over a hundred stallions and mares, colts and fillies crowded around the stallion, curious about whom he was. One brave filly broke through the pack and, to the surprise of her mother, slowly walked up to the stallion, reached out and tapped the shoulder.

She jumped back in shock as the stallion opened his eyes and extended the metallic wings that his suit gave him. He turned and looked at her. She watched as a smile slowly formed upon his scarred face.

"Hello there." He said with a cheery tone, ignoring the crowd and focusing on the filly. He giggled softly as he watched the filly run back to the safety of her father's legs.

She watched in both awe and moderate fear and the stallion slowly pushed himself up and turned to face her. He saw her look past him and realized that she was looking at his wings. Alpha smiled as he spread both wings up and out, each metallic feather razor-sharp and glistening in the sun.

"Who are you?" A voice pierced through the silence like an arrow pierces through the flesh of its target.

Alpha stood up on his two hind hooves. "I am Alpha; a pegasi-mutant; an escapee from the infamous and legendary Rainbow Factory." He sighed, looking for the right words.

"Are you the good pony?" The filly asked, her voice high-pitched and young.

"I…fought for what I though and still think is right. I stopped Celestia from the genocide she tried to attempt and in doing so, revealed the truth behind the Rainbow Factory and basically everything that you were taught was bad."

"So…" She spoke. "You are the good pony?"

Alpha looked at the filly and smiled. He returned back on to his four hooves and crouched. "Yes, I am the good pony." He said happily.

"Did you defeat the mean Princess?"

"Yup." He said, nodding his head.

"Did you kill her?"

His smile faded slowly and he shook his head. "No."

"Are you serious?" A voice cried out. "Why didn't you kill the bitch?"

Alpha ceased crouching and straightened his legs. "I did not kill her not because I understand completely why she did what she did, although I do not agree with it, but because that it is not my decision to kill her. I fought her; I lost my left wing to her." Alpha spoke as he removed his left wing, revealing the still raw appendage. "She killed my best friend, Princess Luna, scapegoated the changelings and the mutants, destroyed Cloudsdale, nearly burned Ponyville to the ground, and was about to level this city. But even after so much death, I will not kill her. She is currently on her way to Canterlot, escorted by five changelings in armor similar to my own," His suit lit up as he mentioned it and he put his wing back on. "I will check to see if Chrysalis is alive, but for now, Celestia will live until there is a suitable replacement."

"Queen Chrysalis? The Changeling Queen? She's a monster! She's a-"

"She's been scapegoated and lied about. I have and will show, in due time, the proof to show such. However, I am needed in Canterlot. The changelings are your friends, so respect them as such." Alpha said as he quickly left, desperately trying to escape another conflict.

He slowed himself and hovered just above the ruins of Canterlot, watching some buildings slowly repairing themselves; the bricks and mortar flying back into place, sealing up once again. Slowly but surely, Canterlot will rebuild itself. His ears picked up a familiar sound and he raced towards the source. Alpha smiled as he saw the colt and snuck up behind him before grabbing his wings and holding them in place, causing Charlie to scream out in both shock and terror. Delta reacted to the threat and shot a jagged yellow bolt at the threat.

Alpha ducked his head and missed the bolt before letting go of Charlie. "I see that you are still easily scared."

Charlie spun around and gasped in glee at the sight of his colt-friend, quickly hugging him. "You're alive!"

Alpha chuckled and hugged back. "If I would've died, I'd become a ghost so basically either way I would've come back."

Charlie released Alpha and the two landed on a nearby roof.

"_I saw Celestia being escorted back here. I thought the goal was to kill her or did Beta think otherwise?"_ Delta asked, Charlie's suit glowed a faint green for a couple of seconds.

Alpha tried his best not to flinch at the name of his friend and instead tried to change subject. "Is Chrysalis alive?"

"_She's fine; Celestia basically ripped both of her wings off but,"_ Delta flexed Charlie's wing. _"She'll create her own style of wings when she has rested enough. What did Beta say or do about Celestia's survival."_

Alpha sighed and looked at Delta, who had removed Charlie's helmet and blinked.

"_What?"_

Alpha said nothing but continued to look at Delta.

"_Alpha? What's-"_

"He's dead."

"_No shit Sherlock, he's been dead for ove-"_

"That isn't what I mean." Alpha said, somewhat annoyed. "He's dead."

"_What do you mean 'he's de-"_ Delta froze as he realized what Alpha was saying. _"How? What happened?"_

Alpha silently removed his wing again, showing Delta his injury before telling Delta everything. Throughout the story, Delta un-bonded with Charlie, allowing him to gaze at Alpha's missing wing and listen to his story.

"He set her up for me." Alpha finished slowly.

Delta slowly nodded; in denial or in acceptance Alpha did not know. He looked to the left and watched as the clouds in the sky covered the sun and began to rain.

The rain sizzled upon contact with the fire and eventually put them out as well as washing the blood off of the streets. The red water washed through the cracks and eroded veins in the streets and to into the grass, the liquid splitting in directions upon touching the bladed plants. They knew it would be a while until the blood-water will be soaked up or evaporated. Graveyards outside the castle had begun to dig themselves, shovels without their owners dug into the dirt and created neatly made graves; at the head of each coffin stood a block of marble with its hammer and chisel hard at work, etching the names of the deceased for the grave into the rock.

Alpha ignored the sounds and leaned over to Charlie, wrapped his metallic wing around him and brought him close, hugging the colt, happy to finally complete his dream. He looked down at the colt that had his head up against his armored neck with his eyes closed.

"What do you want to do today?"


	52. Part 4: Chapter 1:

I lied. I'm sorry.

* * *

Part 4: Chapter 1: Well, Not Really '_**The**'_ End

He veered to the right past first pillar of moving marble, then left as the second swung at him. Landed briefly on the third and curled up into a ball, his metallic wings covering his back and smashed through the fourth. The fifth intentionally exploded into fragments of sharp splintering rock, causing the Pegasus to veer too far left to dodge it and nearly collided with the sixth who had paired up with the fifth and hid just behind the column. His wing clipped the side, sending him into a dizzying spin-

And brutally clotheslined, losing all momentum along the swinging skinny seventh, causing the stallion to fall from the air. He hit the floor with a thud and immediately grasped the already reddened section of his stomach as he gasped for air. His chest felt as if it was on fire.

The fragments of the fifth began to group together, repairing itself. The other six remained still, standing straight before their brother joined and resumed their original job as support columns.

His breathing, once he regained the ability, was ragged and high pitched. Beads of sweat ran down his face and his made clumps of hair within his mane, which was composed of a myriad of blue that ranged from a dark Galaxy-blue to sky blue, partially covered that dark scar that crossed his face from above the right eye to his lower left cheek. He stood up and, with a considerable limp, made his way to the sixth column.

"You sneaky bastard." Alpha growled.

It, in reply, wobbled its lower half.

He lifted his hoof and playfully shoved it before leaving the training area. Even at night, the castle was alive, busy with clerks, guards, and maids as they quickly went back and forth to their assigned locations. He took a step forward only to hear a guard stop and salute him. "Your Majesty." Everything fell silent as all the ponies turned to him and saluted.

Alpha sighed. "At ease. All of you." The guard nodded and the corridor returned to its busy state. The King began to walk to his room. It was the one thing that annoyed him the most:he _hated_ being King. He stopped and allowed several guards walk by in their own organized line before continuing on to his room. The role, let alone all the popularity and social rank didn't fit him. He couldn't handle all the ponies talking about him. All the noise, the terrible, terrible noise drove him mad. At times, he would just cover his ears with his hooves and wait for every pone to fall silent.

The white stallion opened his door, walked in, and shut it behind him. The room consisted of a bed that was way too large for himself, a marble fireplace that he could walk in on his hind hooves and still have room to jump upwards, several large bookcases filled with books that the last owner had read, a door to the outside deck where he could be seen looking out over Equestria, and a telescope that could be used to see the stars so clearly it was almost too bright to look at them.

He jumped onto the bed, sinking in like quicksand, not caring that his wings were still locked on. They slowly fell to either side, inactive. He hated this place, hated being King, hated being popular, hated it all. The stallion felt his chest get heavy to which he close his eyes and curled up into a small ball on his side. It always came in waves, from seemingly out of nowhere. To what triggers it or the cause of it, he had no clue but it always hit him with the same force of a speeding freight-train. Nightmares plagued his dreams and depression filled his life. The droplets of water began to wet the pillow beneath him. He couldn't handle it; being alone. With Charlie and Delta gone, escaping from the unwanted attention, and Sombra with Chrysalis always working to keep the kingdom afloat with the massive debt and repairs of the cities, Alpha was almost always alone.

And with no goal, no real purpose after his victory and with the loss of Beta, he was left to stay, forbidden to go to do what he used to enjoy and love, unable to become anonymous and disappear from the rest of society.

"All I did," he cried to himself, "All I wanted was to just take the damn bitch out of power so nopony would get hurt like I did."

Those outside his room could hear the King cry, but could do nothing and in turn did nothing. They could not go in and comfort the King. _Who in Celestia's name would do such a thing? _Most thought as they strolled by but for the far too few that did stay, their belongings on the floor near the wall, all they could do is wait for him to come out. They were only few and with low social-status, those that stood up to the discrimination of all genders, types, and un-naturals: A royal guard of the Prison Cells who had listened to all those within the jail cry out and plead for freedom, a cooking maid who had been told off by the farmers who disagreed with the new Ruler, and the royal mail-stallion, whose job had just reactivated as this King did not use magic for letters.

Alpha's crying subsided as he finally got a hold of his fragmenting emotions. He sighed and sat up, staring into his reflection, the mirror across the room. He wiped his face with a hoof, those strikingly brown eyes glued on the mirror as he pushed himself off the bed and watched as the mirror levitated down from the wall in a semi-transparent blue glowing hue. He expected to see his old friend within, crying before shattering the mirror and flying away in the shards of glass he had seen when they first met. But instead he saw himself, sitting down with his metallic hoof-crafted wings at his side, those charcoal-colored feathers slowly fluttering in the slight cold midnight breeze from the open door that led outside. He was alone to his thoughts.

The urge to destroy something within was immense, but due to his status, he knew he could not destroy a wall, even if he could rebuild it. He thought about going to the dueling arena and destroying some metallic dummies for fun but knew the satisfaction of destroying those wouldn't come for they would just repair themselves after he had finished.

His eyes glanced at the Marble fireplace but more specifically at the wood beside it. Without any real reason, he brought one close to him, and listened carefully as it cracked and broke into pieces and then into smaller pieces, over and over until they were just kindling. Alpha's curiosity bloomed as he lit the tip of one of the sticks and flipped it over, entranced by the flames that licked and blackened the rest of the wood. Without hesitation, he fed the fire, levitating in the air, another stick, and then another and another.

A thin smile formed as he watched his miniature campfire float just before him. His eyes watched with joy and tracked the fire, watching it turn into smoke, then watched it float upwards to the rest, that clouded the ceiling.

"Oh." He said, staring at the giant cloud. Paying too much attention to it, however, caused the small campfire to fall to the floor, which in turn caused Alpha to jump in surprise. _Oh shit! _He watched as the embers glowed and the rest of the sticks slowly relight. Quickly, he swiped the sticks into the marble fireplace, opened the chimney, and watched with some satisfaction as the smoke began to escape. "So, now with you taken care of," He spoke to himself as he looked at the embers around him, "Alright, well _mostly_ take care of," The stallion fell silent as he looked up and began to run what spells he could use to aid him with this…situation.

Then an idea, albeit a crude idea, occurred. He quickly flew out the door up to his cone-styled roof, and with some magic, destroyed a brick or too, allowing the smoke to pass through. As he landed on the edge of the curved roof, he watched the smoke dissipate. "Now, with you taken care of," He said as he gazed upon the stars. "And ruining part of my roof and my night, I think I'd…" He trailed off looked around, gazing upon the castle and her kingdom that bathed in the moonlight. Too stunned for words, he continued to look on, looking over the Canterlot, taking in every unlit candle and window.

But he could still see the eyes that reflected the moon's light, knowing that they were all focused on him; on the new King; on the Mutant, all glittering and twinkling like those in the sky. And again, he felt alone.

Hopelessly, depressingly, isolated; alienated; alone.


	53. Chapter 51

Chapter 2: Questions, Questions, Questions

He was found curled up on the smooth floor before the fireplace. The rug, crafted by the now wealthy and legendary carpenters and given as a gift to the previous ruler was now rolled up and placed neatly behind him. The fire, still crackling and glowing, gave off a soothing tone. The curtains were closed, and the hole above was nowhere to be seen.

He was awake, but only slightly. His eyes drooped and they fluttered as he attempted to stay awake, entranced and wooed by the presence of the dangerous and chaotic flame. The presence of dangerous items had nearly always the same affect to him: calm, reporting once that he felt 'safe' around it, despite an item's toxicity or lethality.

He breathed in and out slowly; the fire pulsating to his breathing rhythm. The door to his room opened and in came a servant. He came in, did what he could to not disturb the resting King and opened the curtains, blinding the stallion for a brief moment. "Good Morning, Your highness,"

"Yes…Good Morning." Alpha spoke as he got up and shielded his light from his eyes.

"Sleep well, sir?"

"You could say that."

"Right. Well then, you have appointments today. So you must get up, shower and get ready to meet and greet them once they get here."

Alpha looked at the servant. He spoke in a Noble-pony's tone and accent; thick but smooth, never slurring, never mispronouncing any word that he spoke. "What appointments? I didn't make any…"

"You have a two-o'clock appointment with Miss Scratch, a three-thirty o'clock appointment with a…" Alpha began tuning him out only because at that time, and how tired he was, he really didn't give a damn. "Sir? Are you paying attention?"

_How the hell did Celestia get through this?_ "Let's get things done one at a time, alright?"

The servant bit his lip and nodded. "The showers, right…"

The king nodded, smiling for a quick second. "Don't clean this room."

"You mean _your _room. Why, if I make ask, do you not sleep on the bed?"

"I don't like the bed."

"Would you like me to fetch the-"

"I don't want you to fetch any pony, its fine. I'm just not used to sleeping on beds that size and that…quality." Alpha replied as he left his room and headed for the showers.

Vinyl glanced at the crown that was lying on its side by her hooves. Her eyes flew up, following the steps and looked over her new King. His eyes were bloodshot and bags colored underneath it. His mane was messy and moist, not dripping with water but close. He never seemed to smile or frown, just a horizontal line that etched his lips. It was very different than Celestia's posture, whose back was always straight and nearly had a smile every time she saw her. His back was curved, his wings were scratched up and dented, and his brown eyes seemed to stare straight through her.

Nevertheless, she had made an appointment. She had to act right…_enough._ "Your Highness," She spoke aloud, bowing to her King. "It is nice seeing you again."

"Likewise." His voice sounded tired and hoarse.

"Not gonna lie," She dropped her act quickly. "You seem mad with power. You know, like in every story, where the king goes mad with power after taking it from the previous owner."

Alpha hopped off the throne and descended down the stairs, walking to her so he could talk to her face to face. He blinked slowly, glancing at her. "I'm tired and I _hate_ being King."

"You hate being King? Why?"

"Too much attention," He replied back casually, walking past her. "Too much social attention and isolation. How's Octavia? Has she gotten used to being a ghost?"

"She has, thank you for asking. She uses it to her advantage a lot, passing through walls and scaring me. What do you mean by "isolation"?"

Alpha turned to her and noticed for the first time that her iconic purple glasses were raised and holding just above her horn. "I'm isolated by everypony here. Maids, Guards, Servants, you name it. They all call me King, all treat me with respect, all listen to me without a second thought; I could send them off a cliff to their demise and they'll say "If you wish, my King," salute me, then actually jump off. Blindly following whatever I say."

"They are supposed to be like that!" Octavia rose from the floor. "I apologize King Alpha, but that's what they do."

A frown formed from her use of his title. "Don't call me that, please."

"Call you what?"

"Don't call me by my title."

"Why?"

"I…don't want it to be my name."

"It's just a title! What's wrong with it?"

"I'm not a King!" The reply felt like an instinctive answer, as if he had been waiting for somepony to ask him what the problem was. "I'm not a King! I never wanted to be one!"

"I don't understand. Isn't that what you went after Celestia for?"

"I went after her," He sat down, his wings relaxed and by his side. "I went after her because I knew that she was the reason for my pain and that as long as she was Princess, more were going to suffer like me. So when I escaped for the first time with Beta, I knew what to do. My plan was never to be King, my plan actually stopped after I would interact and fight Celestia. Beta nor I had no plan, no goal for what happened next."

"Why not?"

"Because the goal was just to take out the bully, nothing more. I presume that if Beta had stayed, we would just disappear, still work from within the blind eye of society. A ghost waiting to help the living."

"So wait," Vinyl interrupted. "If you could, would you give all this to get away from all the attention?"

"If I could, I would have already done so. Blueblood could have the throne for all I care, but Chrysalis and Sombra made me stay here, to draw attention from them to me."

"What are they doing?"

"They control the city and the army, what's left of it anyway."

"What do you mean?" Both Octavia and Vinyl inquired.

Alpha looked up at both of them. "You still haven't heard?"

"The media hasn't been able to get anything out since the fight."

Alpha gave a combination of both a sigh and a chuckle. "The royal guard has split up."

"What do you mean it "split up?"?"Vinyl asked.

"Basically, after Chrysalis, Charlie with Delta, Sombra, and I took the castle, half of the faction broke up, claiming that they still followed Celestia's orders and didn't want to work with us."

"Jeez. So, changing subject, if you will."

"Please."

"What are you currently doing?"

"I? Nothing really. No new reports or any reports of sightings of Charlie and Delta or Beta. Life at the castle is pretty dull, well compared to my past."

"Charlie and Delta left, huh?"

"After a month since the victory." His tone dropped down. "So all I have to comfort myself is myself, considering that none of the staff are willing to even have a normal conversation with me."

"Well, aren't Octavia and I doing just that?"

"You are, and I thank you for that." Alpha stood up, rested his wings and looked around. "Yeah, it…gets pretty boring around here. Last night was actually a night where something different happened."

"Which was?"

"I created a small fire inside my room then realized after a while that I had created a cloud of smoke near the ceiling."

"Now that sounds like something you would do, no offense."

"None taken. That's why I have bags underneath my eyes, didn't get much sleep."

"Your room," Octavia asked. "Is that the same room that-"

"Celestia slept in?" He interrupted. "Yeah, it is."

"Can we go see it?" Vinyl asked.

"VINYL!" Octavia cried out. "You can't just ask the King," She looked at Alpha to see him glancing at her, then corrected herself, "I mean Alpha, to see his room."

"Its fine, you mares can visit it. Follow me." Alpha replied with a rare smile as he turned to lead them to his room. "Is this what it feels like to have "friends over"?"

"Like at a cottage?" The eccentric mare replied, looking around.

"Yeah." He said, looking over his shoulder and nodding.

"Well, this is just a _tad_ bit bigger than a cottage, but I guess. Haven't you been in a cottage before?"

They turned to the right to enter a deserted corridor. The stained glass depicting of previous victories of Kings and Queens and Princesses vibrantly colored the wall and red-carpeted floor. "I think I lived in one when I was just a foal. I can't really remember anything of that time. So excluding that part of my life, I have only been in one once, and that was Beta's run-down place."

"His place was still up?! After all this time?"

"It…was falling apart, but yeah, everything was still there."

"How? I thought ponies would ransack the place."

"Think of it like this: Would _you_, after all you know of what he did, could do, and will do - if he came back – ransack his place?"

"Good point."

The three went silent as the two mares followed their king. Bloodstains could be faintly seen if one knew where to look; remains of the last battle. Cracks filled in with plaster showed which rooms had their walls damaged and cleaner stained-glass revealed what was broken and what wasn't.

"This place is huge." Vinyl finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"I feel as if it's all for show, as if each room didn't really have any other purpose but to show off."

"And you don't like that?" Octavia said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…considering of what you are and who you are, not to mention your past,"

"I don't show off on purpose, if that's what you were wondering." Alpha interrupted again, climbing the flight of marble stairs. "I'm not a party pone like Vinyl. I don't use these rooms and I doubt I ever will. "

"Can I?" Vinyl asked excitedly without any hesitation.

"Go for it. Just don't go up here." He said as he reached his room. The door was still open and charcoal covered the floor. The bed was made and the curtains drawn.

"This is the room?"

"Yeah. You can see that the charcoal is still on the floor from the little experiment that I had last night."

"You have a great view of Canterlot." Octavia chimed in. "and a wonderful telescope."

"I still have no clue how to work it." Alpha admitted, glancing up at the roof, to the marble fireplace, and at the charcoal. Vinyl, on the other hoof, watched Alpha with interest.

"What's on your mind?"

"Just thinking…"

"Of what?"

"If you can't already tell, I get bored often here. Little to nothing for me to do. All I ever do now is sleep, eat, walk around exploring the place, and train."

"So you are looking for something to do?"

"I am not looking, but thinking of something I can do."

"Did you ever find out your reason?"

Alpha turned to look at Vinyl, who was looking at herself in the mirror. "My reason?"

"Yeah. Your reason for having your wing removed."

He sat down and sighed heavily. "It was all for a moral boost, to scare the other workers and enhance production."

"What happened to it?"

"What, the factory?"

She nodded.

"I destroyed them."

""Them"?"

"There were many, not just the one I was housed in. All over Equestria, some in plain disguised like those disguised as a college, others hidden in isolated places.

"I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions, it's just that everypony considered the Rainbow Factory as legend, as myth and just an old morbid-as-fuck tale to tell to foals to scare them to get good grades at school."

"It's fine, go for it." Alpha replied, smiling upon hearing that his worst nightmare was used only as a tale.

"It'll probably offend you."

"Try me."

Octavia glided to Vinyl's side. "What was Beta's problem?"

The king chuckled, bit his lower lip, and then his smile started to fade.


	54. Chapter 52

Chapter 3: An Old Friend

The room was lit by the candles that stood on the numerous scrolls, their wax dripping from the top and harmlessly cooling on the paper. The windows allowed the star and moonlight to enter, bringing light onto only what it touched.

The ghost of the dead king looked over the map, the changeling beside him. Covered with miniature castles, flags, and toy guards, the two planned out their next move and fallback plans. It wasn't easy, being that some within Celestia's old grasp now withdrew and responded to the news of the new King with vulgar language. The cities that had experienced the events of the war agreed and listened to the call, those who didn't, who were mostly farms and trading posts that developed too slow for society's taste.

The shadow of another stallion entering the room covered the map. Sombra's eyebrow jumped in his own greeting, Chrysalis didn't move a muscle. He walked to the side, placing his crown near a candlestick and made his way to the opposite side of the table.

"So," Alpha spoke, watching the two. "What now?"

"You," Sombra began, "need to give the media information of what you have been doing recently."

"Vinyl already told me that." His eyes glanced over the map, reading it. "What are you two up to?"

"Thinking."

"Of?"

"Which to put attention on next."

"How so?"

Chrysalis looked to him and smiled. "There are two options you can pick."

"Chrysalis…" Sombra instinctively interrupted.

"He's a king for heaven's sake. He should have the option to pick what we should do." She spoke as she playfully nudged him. "As I was saying," She followed the king's eyes to the crown, tilted, and watched it slowly fall to the stone floor with a loud _clank_! It rolled around for a few, scratches scarred the royal object. Her eyes then slowly went back to him only to find out that those brown sleepy eyes were fixed on hers.

"You know how much I would enjoy being out there, on the front lines, than being stuck in here with that damn thing on my head. So, what are the two options?"

"We can go after the Crystal Kingdom and open up the trade route again, or we can go for Chrysalis's kingdom and increase the bond between Changeling and Pony."

"I assume we don't have the pony-power to do both."

She nodded. "And if you go, it will be more of a forced relationship with changelings than the actual genuine relationship we are aiming for."

"And we don't think you are really suitable for opening up the trade route to the Chrystal Kingdom." The ghost chimed in.

"Why not?" The stallion shot back.

"It's more business than it is actual fighting."

Alpha fell silent, pondering his option while exploring the map. He walked to the left then to the right before actually jumping onto the table and, while making sure not to tip or move anything, looking at the tiny arrow written on the map with the label _Chrysalis_ underneath it pointing south. "We can do both."

Sombra's eyes lit up for a quick second, watching the King's eyes dart back and forth. "How?"

"I'll…get into contact with Charlie and Delta, see if they are up to the job of repairing the bond between the two species. Delta used to know changelings in his time, he knows the truth behind…" He glanced up at Chrysalis. "…you."

"He won't be really happy seeing you, you know."

Alpha looked up at Sombra and nodded. "So give me some time."

He was hiding in plain sight. Using his armor's ability to fragment and shapeshift, he used the recently polished armor to reflect the stars and moon above, fooling any pone who saw it to think it was just giant puddle. Alpha smiled as he landed close, watching and examining the shards floating and waving whenever a slight breeze came by. Each fragment was kite-shaped and drifted left to right, dense and hyper-realistic.

He knew that the teenage colt was sleeping, he could hear distinct slow beat of the heart at rest. Faint but distinct. Picking up a small pebble by merely glancing it, he dropped it into the "water". It acted like water; ripples forming and even the going as far as simulating the splash. Alpha was impressed.

The pond flashed green once then twice before two tree-leaf green circles appeared, made up of the floating illusion. It blinked once, showed a confused look, before becoming half-mooned shapes.

"_Long time, no see." _

Alpha nodded, smiling at the familiar voice. "How are you two doing?" He whispered.

"_We are doing well. And you?"_ Delta replied.

"It's boring as hell being King."

"_I bet. I assume you aren't here just to chat."_

The white stallion sat down. "We need help."

"_Who's 'we'?"_

"Sombra, Chrysalis, and I."

"_With what?"_

"Repairing the relationship between Changeling and Pony."

They both fell silent as the colt within moved around in his sleep.

"_Why can't you do it?"_

"The two replied that it wouldn't be genuine if I tried to repair it. Considering your experience with the _Battle of the Victims_, I thought you would be suited best with it."

"_I'll do what I can. Is there anything else?"_

Alpha paused, his smile fading. "How is he?"

"_He is doing alright. The colt was a bit depressed a few months after leaving but I did what I could to help him move on."_

He lowered his head slightly and nodded. "Alright."

"_And you?"_

"I'm dealing with isolation, loneliness and complete boredom." He said slowly. "It's weird no longer having Beta. Dealing with my emotions for the first time without assistance."

"_More silence?"_

"More like time to myself."

"_Your title stops others from properly speaking to you, right?"_

He nodded. "I hate it. Been locked up all in my castle, not allowed to go out and not wanting to talk to the media."

"_Slowly losing your sanity, no pony to speak to, nothing new to see, no reason to do anything."_

"It's…." He trailed off. "At the factory, I had something to do, even though I was forced to do it. I saw pones, we all had our jobs and challenges. But at the castle, there isn't anything to do; no challenges, no threats, no jobs."

"_What you are feeling now is similar to what I experienced after I died."_

"How so?"

"_We are all driven in life by the knowledge that one day, it will all be over. After I died, as I came back, I found myself stuck. With no timer, per se, to drive me to do anything, and no rules to follow or break, one finds themselves in limbo." _

"So what do you do?"

"_You wait."_

"For how long?"

"_I, personally, have been waiting for around a thousand years, give or take. So, I, telling you this, am showing you that I understand your pain perfectly." _

"You seem as if you have something to do now."

"_What? Oh, well yes, but I still get bored from time to time, usually at night when he is asleep." _

"What have you two been doing since you left?"

"_We are pretty much freelancers, work-for-hire. We don't do it for the bits, we do it because there isn't anything else to do."_

"What do you usually do?"

"_Spying, lurking, a raid on the target's place here and there, rarely do we ever get assassination contracts, but when we do, we tend to take the money then expose the contractor themselves." _

"That seems risky."

"_Yeah, but we often break the rules of engagement." _

"That sounds like a lot of fun."

"_It can be."_

Alpha smiled as the conversation slowly died out. He still sat there, looking around, watching the stars above. Due to the limited light pollution of being so far away from any large cities, the dim stars came to life, giving off enough light to light up most of the surroundings.

"_What about you? What have you been up to?"_

"I mostly train all the time inside the castle."

"_Honing your flight and fighting skills?"_

"Yup."

"_Why?"_

"I…don't feel safe in the castle."

"_But you sleep there."_

"I slept in the factory and I can assure you that I never felt safe in there."

"_You keep bringing that topic up. Is something wrong?"_

"We keep finding abandoned factories. By 'we' I mean the Royal Army."

"_Any in working condition?"_

Alpha glanced at Delta's eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Delta didn't reply.

"Delta, why do you ask if any are operational?"

"_We had a contract, an assassination contract, some time ago. As such, Charlie and I took the money. We tracked down the target to talk and give him the warning of some pone putting a hit on them."_

"Get to the point." His tone was less playful and more serious.

"_Fine. We discovered an operational factory."_

"Where?"

Delta, again, didn't reply.

"Delta, where is the factory?"

Delta's eyes disappeared and the floating shards of metal parted to reveal the colt, awake, looking up at him. His eyes reflected the stars above.

"You can't go there." Charlie finally spoke out. His ghostly companion faded in beside him, glancing at him then up at Alpha. Alpha didn't speak, but his face remained grim. Charlie chuckled. "Not even going to say hello? Not going to even ask how I am?" He stood up and waited for the shards to group around his hide, slowly assembling the armor around him, halting at his chin and resuming the process of creating the helmet in front of him. "I am aghast. You wake me up at night, refuse to leave, then demand where the location of a place is? Really?"

Alpha blinked twice. "Do you still hate me?"

"Changing subject already? I assumed-"

"If you are going to act cocky, so fucking be it. Where is the factory?" He interrupted, annoyed.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Are you going to destroy it?"

"Maybe. Why do you care?" Alpha could hear the uncertainty in the colt's voice.

"If you are going to destroy it, why haven't you already? What's stopping you?"

"_Thirty cannons, several high-quality mutants, and a shit-ton of guards. Not to mention the damn place is rigged to blow at the push of a button."_

Alpha giggled. "_Estefania_ can withstand so much more than a simple explosion! The point is to destroy the damn place, not save it!"

"We can't destroy it!" Charlie blurted out before covering his mouth with his hooves. His eyes went wide and he looked at Delta.

"Why not?" Alpha did what he could to not let his anger take control. The memory of all the depression, pain, and isolation of that place slowly rose from its prison.

Delta sighed and tried to pick his words carefully. _"They found Luna and are holding her inside. _


	55. Chapter 53

Reached 15,000 views.

* * *

Chapter 4: Not a Noob Anymore

The maids and royal guards looked up in horror as they saw their king return, caked in dried blood. It wasn't the first time they witnessed him in such a horrific state, although it has been a while. No, their eyes weren't gazing upon the King but upon the lifeless body of Princess Luna that floated gracefully ahead of him.

* * *

The whole world seemed to stop. His memory retreated faster than light, his anger and annoyance dissipated, his fatigue signed out for the night. His mind, unlike the rest, exploded in a furry of strategies, each step-by-step and detailed to the fullest extent. However, he had to stop his mind from going too far and get the information he needed.

"How do you know this?" Alpha asked.

"_Our target told us everything he had seen." _

"Did he escape? How did you find the target?"

"_They were one of the first to actually escape."_

"Who wanted him gone?"

"A high official by the name of Blinding Sunlight." Charlie answered.

"Mare or Stallion?"

"_Stallion."_

"E, P, U, or M?"

"_Uh…Unicorn."_

"Where is he now?"

"_We don't see eye-to-eye." _

"What did the target tell you?"

"_That he saw the body of the Princess. At night, they could hear muffled screams. Their interrogation room was always blocked off and guarded heavily."_

The King scratched his mane. He wanted to go report back to Chrysalis and Sombra but felt as if there was no time. The urge to do something was immense.

"Let's go back to the castle, report this to Chrysalis and Sombra."

Charlie and Delta looked at each other, confused.

"What?"

"_We already told them."_

"When?"

"_When we found out about her."_

"Which was how long ago?"

"_A good month or two." _

Alpha frowned. _Reporting this back to Sombra and Chrysalis seemed like a shitty idea anyway. _

It wasn't cleaned. It wasn't repaired. He left it exactly the way it was once he took it off. All dented and scratched, it sensed his presence and lit up with a faint neon-blue hue. He felt his anger within rise as the suit came back to life and encased its owner. First the hind legs, then the front, then the under belly, back, neck and finally the muzzle and forehead. The left side was still caked in dried and flaky blood. White feathers feebly fluttered in the breeze, blood as its glue, as he walked.

The shadow woke up the sleeping changeling and seemed to revive the ghost. They looked up, aghast, at the shadowed figure whose eyes glowed and blinked.

"When I finish this," The figure spoke, a slight growl could be heard within its tone. "We will talk."

It was sitting in the wilderness, afar from civilization, led by the information that Delta and Charlie gave to him. A single trail that branched off many times to lure curious ones away, led to the factory. The king, with his suit's light inactive, stood still, perched upon a nearby tree, a few miles out.

From his recent and albeit hastily recon, it was heavily fortified, which narrowed his attack down to two options; sneak in or go all out.

After counting all fifty cannons, the eight watchtowers, and observing the guard rotation cycles, which weren't very frequent, sneaking in did seem like a good plan, however this time, he would have to focus on cloaking himself, which was a hoof-full. Going all out and attack head on would work, but he would need another emotion to focus his magic on. Rage would work, but only for so long, so he needed a backup and none but forgiveness had the same punch like Rage, and besides, who the fuck could he forgive in this instance?

With his option of attack chosen, the King pushed off his perch, landed silently, and headed for the factory, occasionally looking up to watch the steam from the engine room dissipate in the night sky. It was eerily quiet; no scattering of mice on the forest floor, no hum from the factory's main engine, just alone and to his thoughts. It felt weird not having Beta's presence with him. Being alone for almost four years now, he relied on his own thoughts for comfort.

He cloaked himself, visually and audibly, as he neared the south wall. No weakness he could see. So he went to the east, then the west but to no avail. The north wall had the door, but it only opened when a carriage carrying resources came. He looked up again, and saw the end of the barrel of the cannon. To either side was another, and another, and another. All fifty littered the four sides of roof, all watching over the terrain.

This had to work. He had no other alternative. It had to, it HAD to work. The cannon, now backed up close to the watchtower to where its knob was placed firmly against the brick, had to fire correctly. Too little gunpowder and it will bounce off the wall, too much and it will get lodged _inside_ the watchtower, which would not allow Alpha to enter. Alpha looked around and made sure that everything was in place before lighting the fuse, uncloaked then cloaked himself again, just to be careful.

The cannon fired, the recoiled pushed hard against the bricks and made a sizable hole. Searchlights and guards came pouring out onto the roof not a second after the explosion but the intruder was already in, scaling down the stairs and silently pulverizing any pone who ran up the same path.

It wasn't busy inside, which didn't surprise him and actually set some questions he had to ease, considering that it worked like the one he used to be in. The walls were painted a light turquoise, the floor clean and seemingly recently washed. Alpha looked to the left then to the right before making up his mind and walking left, down the hallway. He turned right, then left, ignoring and calmly walking by several patrols. Although the idea of killing them was on his mind, the number of missing patrols could tip off the guards and was not what he needed at the moment.

The memory of being isolated scratched away at him. Alone to his thoughts, with no knowledge of being an outside world from his cell and work space. No knowledge of the sun or the moon but his own memory and the damn small window. Not allowed to speak often, communicate or socialize. He looked up to find himself surrounded by locked cell doors. Hundreds of them; each housing an isolated pony; each in their own hell; each slowly loosing sanity.

The laughter behind him of two guards entering the room to make sure each cell door was closed and locked rekindled his rage.

Their mood was short lived as they walked up to a cell whose door was wide open, the light inside dark.

"You stay out here, I got this one." He said to his partner, who nodded in reply. The guard entered the cell, his stun-stick up floated behind him. The door slammed shut behind him, and he turned around in shock. His partner ran to get help after banging on the door to open.

Alone, in a cell, the guard backed up to a corner, his stun-stick alive, sparking. He quickly turned to his left, his horn emitting a faint light to see a shadow, a dark pone, scratching the wall with what seemed to be a shank, over and over and over again. He seemed insane.

"Put the weapon on the ground and back away from it slowly!" The guard barked.

The stallion refused.

He swung his stick, missing by mere inches, and looked at the stallion, annoyed that he caught him scared.

"You know," The stallion spoke, staring at him and walking to the light. "It's not nice threatening somepone you have only met. You have no clue what they can do." He smiled within his helmet, watching the fear creep into the guard's eyes. "You get so lonely inside one of these cells, that anything is better than the alternative. You hear things that you know aren't there. You see things that you know are impossible. You believe things that are fake."

The guard outside had gotten some help and had begun to wail at the door, banging over and over again. The stallion glanced at the door before turning to the guard before him and smiled as the door opened, the light outside revealing just the end of the suit. It lit up neon-blue as a guard who had just entered swung the baton at him. "You do things you, if sane, would never think of doing."

Thirteen guards lay incapacitated on the floor. The few who were alive, their throats cut, attempted to scream only to have a simple and pathetic wet gasp come out. Their legs spasming, their eyes watching the figure who had just ended their jobs. The figure, clad in black and a flickering blue, watched as they slowly signed their papers with Death and left.

He found her right where he thought he would. Her color wasn't draining but it was pale. Her mane didn't sparkle anymore like it used to and she instinctively shivered at his touch with his hoof on her shoulder. Her wings weren't impaled but were broken. Bruises littered her legs and deep dried scars covered her stomach and back. A deep purple circle around one eye, several white-as-snow teeth neatly placed on a stainless steel table with a pair of reddened pliers, and one severely-cracked horn. He removed the chains around her, restricting her movement and retreated slightly. Now two options lie before him.

He could grab the Princess and teleport off, leaving those in the factory to die. Or he could risk it all, kill all guards in sight, and help those in the factory escape, while carrying the Princess.

The idea, the thought, the memory of having the choice of choosing someone to live rather than die painfully was staggering. He had finally understood why Luna kept him alive. Understood why it was better to live than it was to die young.

He didn't agree with it though, and the guards that had entered the room, with swords and spears, one in mid-flight, ready to impale him agreed. He took a deep breath.

Side-stepped and grabbed the end of the spear. Whipped the sharp end around, catching its owner in the stomach. Slicing cleanly through and used the excess momentum to destroy another's cheek, pinning him against wall. Ducked under the sword. Grabbed the spear, pulling it out of the wall. Interrupted Gladiator's attack with bottom-end of spear against front left leg, fracturing it. Grabbed sword still falling. Impale downed guard and decapitate injured with spear and sword.

Next guard, on two hind legs, wielding a ball of flame.

_Mutant_

Attack hits left shoulder. Ignores pain and spins under secondary assault. Uses right wing to deflect third. Rage intensifies, annoyance and pain as its kindle and fuel. Ducks to the right. Rolls to forward, closer now. Jumped up, evading sixth and bringing down left wing on front right leg. Bring right wing across neck, defeat guard.

His shoulder was burnt, blistering but not too bad. He glanced at his work and smiled beneath the mask. It felt _good_ being in actual combat again and not that simulated crap. The feel of adrenaline in his blood made him feel alive again.

He giggled maniacally as the sound of hooves galloping on the floor echoed closer.

He wasn't an amateur anymore; standing tall on his hind legs with his left hoof wrapped around the spear pointing down and his wings relaxed. His cuts and kills were precise and fluid.

Two guards on the left, three on the right. Right side lunges first. Count to One. Side-step and turn to the right. Bring dull end of spear onto back of the neck, breaking spine. Thrust left, impaling second. Pull out and flip spear, countering future third lunge with fractured skull.

Left, sword thrusted forward. Count to One. Bring spear to side, Spear head up=. Turn to left. Wait half a second. Bring the head of spear down and through the stomach. Pull out, twisting spear. Sensing movement on right. Turn to face threat, spear whipping around.

Sword meets head of spear, spear becomes staff. Anger rising. Smash staff into face, breaking staff in half. Step in, grab horn. _Pull_. Push unicorn away with right hind hoof. _Pull again_. Duck under the sword, blasting opponent with magic. _Yank Hard._

Retreat two steps. Spin horn in hoof. Allow helmet to shift into ankle-attachment to hold Horn. Twist 90 degrees. Wait for attack.

Wait for two. Lift right hoof up. Bring down, discharging magic through horn as horn meets skull. _Blood's warm. _ Block paralyzing spell. Two strides, introducing dull side of right wing to stomach. Twist wing tips up. Shove guard's head down.

Remove head from wing. Search for new disposable weapon. Sounds of hooves galloping on concrete getting louder. He did a double-glance at the cell doors and switches glances from the increasingly loud sound of backup and the doors, his mind alive. Within an adrenaline-spiked heartbeat, the roof exploded along with the cell doors. Prisoners, after quickly getting their bearings, began emptying the facility, grabbing pones and teleporting off or just flying away. Those who stayed behind, because they didn't have an exit or didn't know what was going on, stared at their savior.

Clad in black and blue glowing armor, his head visible and painted with blood, holding a sharpened horn in one and a straight rebar in the other, he seemed to be the faceless hero in legends and tales of old. They picked up leftover armor to cover themselves and made a barricade at the entrance of several cells, hiding until the battle ceased.

_It_ fought legendarily. Ducking under swords, dodging spears, combining some kind of magic with physical CQC, usually using it as it countered. It didn't get hit or, if it did get hit, seem to take on damage. To the prisoners, this pone they were watching was doing pretty much what the all daydreamed accomplishing and more. Kill after kill. The magic revealed pink ribs and skulls sanitized of flesh. It flashed-fused metal with hide like glowing-hot metal with plastic and skin. _It_ gracefully completed aerobatic maneuvers and easily cut through the cannon-fodder. And then were the mutants; ponies gifted with extreme magic abilities.

Those who have seen them have spoken that they rarely speak and when they do it's in a monotone voice, void of emotion and expression. They follow orders given without hesitation and fulfill every task.

He saw the light run for him and used the nearest corpse as a shield, blasting the attacker with magic once the corpse fell. Unlike the guards, this one was different. It didn't look like a guard but had was wielding, like his kind before, a ball of flame. And it stood, at the only entrance besides the hole in the roof, unscathed by his spell.

With a nod, the mutant challenged him to a duel. Noticing his makeshift dagger was dull, he dropped it, allowing the metal to shape-shift back into his helmet. Once his eye-holes glowed blue, he nodded and readied himself.

The two beams, one blue one orange collided in a magnificent display of power. Molten orange and blue drops of magic occasionally spilled onto the floor. It sparked, arching to nearby structures. Behind the mutant stepped into the light another, who joined into the duel; two against one.

His beam faltered and he began absorbing the magic as another joined in; three against one. Overpowering him, his suit flickered to the increased energy as it feebly attempted to absorb it.

They watched their savior becoming overpowered with the magic, understanding that this was it for him.

Despite the heat from the energy, he felt his chest run cold then begin to spread upwards, outlining every branch within his lungs, his throat, then branch out to every single nerve and muscle in his body.

His beam appeared as static, spiking through the trio's beams and-

He moved with godlike speed. Within a few milliseconds his hooves snapped one neck, crushed and atomized the other and reduced the last to only their outline burned onto the wall remaining.

It was eerily quiet. Small cracks and flashes illuminated the wall as the escaped unicorns returned to grab more survivors. They ignored the bodies, grabbed the innocent, dead or living, and left. For him, however, he waited as the adrenaline wore off. Alpha dropped the bent and torn rebar and fell back onto his four hooves.

The cold air from the outside drifted in, drying the blood that pooled on the floor and on his armor. Eventually, he checked on Luna, opening the door, smiling when he saw that she was exactly where he left her.

"Still unconscious?" He spoke to himself. "That will allow me to explore a bit." He said as he closed the door.

Instead of walking and exploring the maze of hallways, Alpha just walked through them, one by one he destroyed and passed on. Brick turned to dust over and over again until he just began turning each room he entered to rubble.

Entering the engine room, he had a run in with a lonesome guard. He found him limping, injured by unknown means, dazed and confused. With his magic, he held him up in the air.

"Struggling is useless." He spoke, watching his expression. "Your friends and fellow guards are dead."

The guard grunted and continued to struggle.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you," Alpha spoke as he sat down and removed his helmet. "You will not live after this. You will die."

He began to struggle frantically.

"I am going to ask you some questions, I want you to answer and elaborate each and every one, understand?"

His struggling ceased and he finally nodded.

"After I became King, I made sure each factory was destroyed and their practices destroyed. Who built this one?"

"No clue."

Alpha took a look around. "I see no foals, colts, or fillies here. Why wasn't there any here?"

"Tis machine is different. Unlike its brothers, 'tis one don't use younglings. Doesn't need to."

"Explain."

The guard laughed. "Simple, really. Youngling magic is pure, sure, but it ain't usable. Older ponies, their magic is honed, not pure but usable."

Alpha nodded. "Alright, next question. Why was Luna here?"

"The Princess? Fuck if I know."

"Where did you find her?"

"We didn't."

"Who did?"

"Bright Sunshine."

The engine behind the guard began to slowly disintegrate; the brick and stone turned to dust; the roofing and the cannons became nothing as Alpha began to erase the facility. "Do you know why they were torturing her?"

"Again, hell if I know."

Alpha stood up and nodded, donning his helmet. "Thank you." He said and sighed as the disfigured body hit the floor with a wet thud. The sky was no longer blue but turning a dull orange. He made his way to Luna, watching with curiosity as the rooms began to quickly decay. The metal quickly turned orange as it rusted, the cobblestone and brick began to crack and crumble, the plaster walls developed mold and dissolved. It was a peaceful ending to a place that only knew violence.

The maids and royal guards looked up in horror as they saw their king return, caked in dried blood. It wasn't the first time they witnessed him in such a horrific state, although it has been a while. No, their eyes weren't gazing upon the King but upon the lifeless body of Princess Luna that floated gracefully ahead of him.


	56. Chapter 54

He watched her eyes dart across the makeshift map. She slowly transformed back and forth from her dark variant and her original self, deep in thought.

"So," Alpha started. "Trap or kill?"

"Royal code dictates that I trap. Go in with guards near every exit and ask politely that he comes alone without a fuss." Luna turned into her unstable variant, her eyes glued to the map. _"However, emotionally, I want to humiliate him. Exploit and show everypony his flaw and mistake; what he does behind our backs."_ And then reverted. "What would you do?"

Alpha glanced at the map. The plan was straightforward. Bright Sunlight was visiting a club for celebration of being elected Mayor of Vanhoover which opened an endless list of options and strategies. They could wait and abduct the tired Mayor at the end of the celebration, they could go in, head on and catch him surprise or he could go in alone and take him out quietly.

"I…" He trailed off, biting his lower lip in hesitation. "Based off of your condition and emotional state, I, personally, would go in and attack him head on, disregarding civilian casualties, using the _"few in exchange for hundreds" _excuse. But, because it is Nightmare Night," He glanced up with a growing grin. "We could go in quietly and scare him."

"_Scare him? How?"_

"It'll be loud. He'll probably be drinking. A few glimpses, a double take here and there. In the end, it'll add up. By the way," He said, looking up at her. "The second you corner him, you'll have the reigns."

* * *

Chapter 5: The Princess of the Moon

Alpha was sitting along the edge of the building, looking down at those entering the Club. His eyes glued on one specific unicorn. He watched him enter before flying down the stories, landed in a puddle and walked briefly to join the back of the line. He picked up on the flashing fashion and his suit began flashing in neon colors.

The line moved slowly. He let his wings open and close, showing off while stretching. The smell of alcohol was minimal as the laughter of the couples and groupies rose in volume. He looked around, reading the graffiti sprays that colored the brick walls on either side. If one looked closely, they could see the remnants of the propaganda the last ruler wanted the public to believe.

It was one of those nights where the stars were everywhere but the moon was nowhere to be seen. The sound of the increased music within the club was muffled but loud enough to be felt through the ground. Bright Sunlight, unmoved by the bouncer not wanting him to enter, placed a considerable-size of a bit pouch on the clipboard.

"Alright sir, have a good time." The bouncer replied, nodding to the stallion inside to open the door.

He didn't care that he didn't have a reservation. That wasn't important at the moment. What was is that his target that he had been tracking for the past month was inside. A couple of minutes and it was his turn.

"Name?" The bouncer asked.

"That's private."

"Alright, I take it from your armor that you are a Guard. What's your Rank?"

"King."

The Bouncer looked down from his clipboard and stared at the metallic suit. "King eh? Where's the crown?"

"I never really liked it."

"Why, too heavy?"

"Didn't find a use for it. Everypone already knows who I am."

"I'm still going to need facial proof, sir."

"How about this?" Alpha replied as he shot out a warning spell, blackening the brick wall on the left.

"Fair enough. You can enter."

Alpha nodded in thanks before walking inside. The place was steamy with sweat. He made his way backstage, pushing past the manager, a brown earth pony with short jet-black hair and a small untrimmed stubble, who continued to yell at him stating that he wasn't allowed backstage and waited, still standing without swaying, as the music died down with a few cheers here and there for the DJ who took her break.

By then he was surrounded by private guards that were pushing back the metallic suit, attempting to get whoever was inside against on the wall. The two equestrian figures met gazes and she frowned. He shrugged the stallions back with ease, dodging a flying punch and returning it with a knee to the stomach.

"The news and media are going haywire with your appearance." Vinyl said as Alpha walked up to her. "Are you here for the music?"

The suit took off its helmet, revealing the blue mane and the wearer within, with a glance at the bodyguards that gasped and froze in realization of who they were fighting against. "I'm not here for the music, sadly. I'm here for a unicorn."

"Ooh," Vinyl said with a grin. "And I'm assuming this is a special some-pony, stallion right?" She turned and beckoned him to follow as they entered her office. It was a mess; papers everywhere, wires all clumped and knotted, a half-eaten rotting apple on an oak table with an overfilling trashcan beside it.

Alpha tilted his head in some agreement. "You can say that."

"What charm has he got that attracts the lone scarred king? Lemme guess, he knows how to fight?"

"No."

"He…hurts other pones in the past?"

"Kinda."

"Friends?"

A rare grin formed on his face. "She's here."

"Who?"

"Princess Luna."

He watched her snicker in disbelief, glance at him still giggling before going quiet and serious. "She's dead. She died at the battle."

He shook his head, still smiling.

"Bullshit. Where did you find her?" She asked in disbelief.

"At an operational factory. Wings and legs broken, teeth removed, bruises and deep cuts everywhere."

"And you assume that Bright is your stallion."

"Luna and the guards at the factory I interrogated told me that it was him that was interrogating her."

"What for?"

"That's why I am here. To arrest and learn what the asshole wanted."

"How will you do it? He's a slippery fucker, known to teleport at the sight of trouble."

"I've already placed the teleportation-blocker here, he won't be able to leave."

"Is she in the crowd?"

He nodded with a smile. "It is Nightmare Night. Every pony is dressed up like her dark side, so she blends right in."

"I'm guessing you want to go on, freak him out, have he realize that escape is not happening before Luna comes in to scare him like no other, right?"

"That, or I could just go out, arrest him right now and have the Princess herself appear and interrogate him here." Alpha said with a shrug. "What do you want?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"It's your club."

Vinyl went silent as she thought this over. "Can he fight?"

"To my knowledge, no. But if he can, I'm not going to hesitate to introduce his face to the dull edge of my wing. Then Luna can do what she wants to him."

"Interrogate him here. I got cameras everywhere."

He nodded. "Just keep the Music up 'till she appears."

* * *

The unicorn in question was sitting in one of those round booths on the side. Buying a few lovely mares wasn't hard and they laughed as he flirted with them. He was cute in Alpha's opinion and he watched him as he moved around club.

Bright stared up at the ceiling, downed the shot in one painful gulp, looked down to see, just for a second, something glowing neon blue and froze. A double-blink revealed it only to be a jumping and bouncing glow stick on a string around a dancing stallion's neck. His heart returned slowly to its regular pace and the mares playfully shoved him, joking on his sudden stop.

Alpha nodded to the cloaked figure above. Again, he waited until the unicorn was amidst his own world when he flashed again, uncloaking and cloaking, this time waiting a few before cloaking, nudging the table to jolt him back into reality. It did the trick, causing the unicorn to spit out the alcohol in a misty cloud; the mares squealing.

He knew he saw something this time. The shadow of a stallion, flashing blinding blue. His heart raced, sweat poured down his muzzle as he freaked out. The shots on the side, three small glasses, lined up side by side. The lights flashed and went dark, the music slowly dying. He felt his table shake twice and his fear hit home once he heard the shot glasses fall, shattering on the floor.

"_Bright Sunlight,"_ The voice was commanding and god-like. He couldn't breathe, his lungs wouldn't respond. He sat there, gasping like a fish out of water._ "You are hereby arrested for the crimes of treason, torture, and murder." _His blood dropped to absolute zero. His voice, trembling and stuttering, spoke out.

"On whose authority? Who gave you permission to arrest me and humiliate me like this!? I want to know who they are!"

Nightmare Moon, in full glory, appeared on his table, almost growling at him. Her teeth were sharp, her wings groomed and open. With a growl like no other, she responded with order and respect. _"Mine."_

Alpha smiled. The bastard was cornered and he was free.


	57. Chapter 55

Chapter 6: That Blue Glowing Orb

He watched from a few yards back, with a certain satisfaction, the teen-aged colts and mares hang out at the playground. His peers, as Luna called them, were his age and a bit older or younger and would have been his friends if his life was not altered when he was young. With his back against the tree trunk and his eyes closed, he pretended to be asleep. He instead listened to their conversations.

The group of colts were the loudest, talking and bragging about what happened to them in their video games and talking about the recent game of soccer. They laughed and giggled at the crude jokes and playful insults. They hanged out on the playground itself for he could hear the hard plastic creak underneath their weight.

The mares, on the other hoof, chatted about how horrible their lives were, what was wrong and what happened, about which of the group of colts was the cutest and how their dating relationships were going. They judged each other on their make-up and manes.

He heard shuffling and opened his eyes just a bit to see the group of colts spread out as they began to play catch with a Frisbee. His brown eyes tracked the flying pink disc back and forth, smiling as he watched the teen trip as he attempted to catch the disc with his muzzle.

Occasionally, the teens will stop to point at the recently resigned king. They lowered their voices as each dare the other to go and wake him before chickening out and telling somepony else to do it. It was weird and sketchy, being this close to the pony who took down Celestia in a gruesome battle. Eventually they stopped daring each other and returned to their original topics.

Alpha closed his eyes and focused all his remaining attention on hearing. It was odd for him to observe how teenagers his age acted. Laughing and having a good time was what he implied happens when ponies hang out with others their age. He heard about the sports, about how they played soccer and catch, about their relationships they had at school and about their grades; about a life that could have been his.

The day passed on, the groups slowly fell apart and eventually he was the last one left, looking over the playground. With a grunt, he pushed himself up, stretched and walked to the front of the playground, stopping just before the woodchips. Alpha glanced up at the night sky. The moon was up and he spotted the black outline of a figure flying by fast. His shadow cast down on the woodchips, his gaze back onto the structure in question. The see-saw was silent, its wood moldy and brittle. The jingle of the swing-set's chain was slight in the wind. The merry-go-round was rusty, the orange decaying metal flakes fluttered.

His chest turned cold within and he mentally and emotionally braced himself for the incoming assault. His balance shifted and he swayed lightly. The urge to curl up into a ball and hold himself was immense. The stallion looked up as his eyes watered with tears, a futile attempt to help himself not cry. After a minute, he closed his eyes in surrender and felt the warm fluid race down his cheeks. He gently wiped the tears from his face and looked down at the slide. They still fell from his face but were no longer constant as he gained control of his emotions again.

Something caught his attention. A small flash of blue, no bigger than a candle-flame, coming from the trees behind the playground. He initially thought it was Luna landing from her patrol but it seemed to speak to him as it flickered again; blue then a flash of red then back to blue.

With nothing better to do and not wanting to keep crying, Alpha walked through the playground, purposely brushing against the plastic slide. At the foot of the forest was an overgrown trail. Several warning signs were placed around the entrance of the trail, however time had taken its toll and their scriptures and writing were illegible. Alpha glanced back up at the flashing light then back to the signs before making his mind up and moving forward.

It was overgrown with poison ivy and decaying, crunchy leaves. Pine cones littered the sides and the branches above made the moon light's goal to penetrate through impossible. Undeterred, Alpha walked on, his eyes absorbing all the light it could find. His eyes were still red from the brief moment of depression but they scanned the land for anything moving. It was eerily silent; void of small rats that scurried across the forest floor or the sound of the muffled flap of owls searching for pray. The stallion took this time to listen to the branches and leaves crunching under his hoof, occasionally stopping and stepping multiple times on the debris to listen. To imagine the branch breaking beneath him; the splinters exploding everywhere; the fragments of the leaf dividing, giving way to the pressure. He enjoyed every second of it, especially the scent of rotting and growing nature mixed in with the tangy-evergreen aroma.

After what seemed like an hour, he finally arrived at the destination of the light. But instead of an orb of light was a run-down, rotting cottage. _Alright, _he thought, _if you aren't here, what were you? _

The roof looked like a garden for moss; the wood of its walls were blackened and fraying; the windows were broken and shattered. Curious, the mutant walked to the closed door and pushed firmly.

The door had lost the remaining of its original color but opened without a sound as he pushed. He felt as if he knew where he was. The study was on his right, the extra living-room was on his right and the stairs to the second floor was in front of him, curving to the right into what he presumed was the bedrooms. Everything inside, although old, had been protected from the rain and was still in good condition. He took one glance inside the study, his eyes falling upon the oak book-case with the unlit candle-stick and dusty books on the shelves. Medals and Pictures of a family he presumed once lived here littered the walls. Alpha stared at one picture in particular: five ponies, all smiling, staring back at him. One pony, a colt in particular whose mane and coat matched his own did not have the same scar he had on his muzzle, nor the metal wings he had created.

With the sharp and painful realization of who it was and where he was, Alpha did not hear those who came to explore as well. The sound of laughter from a joke brought him back to reality. The recent ruler, feeling vulnerable, cloaked himself and looked out the broken window.

A group of colts slowly moved closer to his house, pushing the closest one forward, daring them to go into the forbidden structure.

"I don't wanna go in! You do it!"

"No way in hell I will."

"Why are you two scared?" The youngest of the five asked. "It's just an abandoned house." He spoke with a hint of confusion as he walked up the steps without a care. "It's not like anyone is in here."

Alpha smiled. He slowly walked out of the study, purposely tipping over the candlestick. The colt whipped around to abrupt crash and his eyes went wide. "Hello?"

The floorboards creaked.

The oldest of the five, a unicorn with a medium-sized horn, ran up the steps to peer in, rudely pushing the youngest to the side. "If anypone is in here, you are on private property. Leave now!" He heard hooves running across the floor and decided to try and scare the unknown entity. "This is the Royal Guard," He spoke, his voice quavering. "Identify yourself!"

"_No." _

The response visibly shook the jock. He heard hooves running across wood coming from every angle and it was impossibly quiet, the only sounds comforting him being his heartbeat and the nervous breathing of his companions. "I say again: Identify yourself or you will be arrested and charged for trespassing."

Alpha was standing on the beam overlooking the entrance and the group. Cloaked in darkness, he glared at them. He didn't know what the charge was for impersonating the Royal Guards or if it was even a crime to do so but he wasn't focusing on that. He felt different. Angered by this group trespassing and claiming that his home was theirs and still recovering from his recent depression attack, Alpha…changed.

Killing them wasn't the idea he had but unlike normally, he did see it as an option. He also saw the chance and opportunity to punish the Jock for rudely pushing the colt aside, who was still rubbing his shoulder to suppress the pain.

"_Leave."_

The Jock was not ready to be humiliated by some pony hiding in the shadows. His horn glowed bright red. "Fine, we'll do this the hard way." The bolt shot out, hitting the wall behind the cloaked mutant and charring it.

"_You won't win. One last chance. Leave."_

His friend, another unicorn, walked to his side and stood with him, giving him a nod and activating his horn. "You are outnumbered," He said as the two others joined him as well. "Four duelists, best of our school, against some pone. You can't beat us."

He wouldn't kill them, but he would teach them a lesson. But first, _"Hey, young colt outside,"_ The colt peered in.

"_Get out of here." _Alpha waited for him to leave before focusing on the jocks and uncloaked himself, showing the four where he was.

He had gotten a good a few yards away before hearing a terrifying crash, turned around and saw the legendary mutant overlooking the four defeated stallions. He watched in awe as the mutant calmly walked up to the jock and leaned down. The colt smiled in amazement as the jock's eyes widened and pleaded to the mutant as he walked back.

Alpha noticed the Colt and gave him a nod before entering his home, smiling to the sounds of him fleeing the area.


	58. Chapter 56

Chapter 7:

She found him in the dueling arena inside the mountain. He sat there on his knees, his back slumped forward, his wings absent from his sides. Instead, in their place were two white stubs, just poking out a few inches from his back. Surrounded by dummies and random statues of pony-like figures, Alpha looked defeated. His heartbeat was slow and his head was lowered; his mane covering his scarred muzzle.

Luna hesitated to speak or make her presence known. Frozen by either fear or curiosity, she did not know. A minute passed with neither of the two moving.

It was loud and blinding. A bright flash of an orange beam struck out, reaching and touching the statue on his right. It exploded into fragments but repaired itself. Another bolt, this time green. And another. And another, each a different color and a different target. The ground beneath him cracked and rumbled. A deep, wheezing, ragged breath revealed his current emotional state.

Jealousy introduced itself to his heart, Regret and Depression to his mind. Jealous that he could not write or do simple math. Jealous of those with families. Jealous of those with friends. Unable to be in the company of his own family.

_Always stuck in this dammed twisted and dark world._

His magic slowly rendered itself unstable as he surrendered within. It begun to splinter into static, jumping to nearby statues, causing them to crumble upon their touch. Unable to let out his emotions clearly, his ability began to shiver, shake loose. Instead of hitting one statue, it hit multiple, each strand moving away from the leader.

_Never with a real way out, never with any chance to survive. _

Time seemed to stop for Luna when she realized what was happening. Her eyes were glued to a single orange beam, watching the static slowly reach out like a living hand, holding onto the lifeless objects for support and sympathy. The ground cracked and this time did not repair itself.

But before she could move, he let out a yell; a scream, a cry for help or for an attention he had never experienced but deeply needed. The statues exploded into dust. She watched as he fell to the floor, curling up into a ball, hugging his knees in his futile attempts to comfort himself.

_Always fighting and killing, never really living._


	59. Chapter 57

Chapter 8: A Ghost

His eyes were bloodshot and his patience was very low. Groggy and easily agitated, he was _not_ in the mood for this. Requested by a History Professor at a college to explain who his story and why he removed Celestia from power. Too exhausted to fly or teleport, even with the help of Luna, Alpha settled for the train ride to Ponyville. Although he qualified for a Royal Cabin, the emotionally-drained stallion waited until all the cabins were full before taking the last one. He was asleep before his head hid the cotton-balled pillow, not even bothering with the blankets.

"I know." He said when Luna came to wake him. It was unbelievably bright and his eyes refused to open fully. His window's blinds were up and he stared at the blur of passengers trying to catch their train before it left.

"Sleep well?" She asked.

He didn't respond and instead swung his hooves off the bed and pushed himself off. His wings were flat against his back. The room smelt of pine sap and he found himself oddly attracted to it. A simple sigh was enough of an answer for him.

"This way then." Princess Luna spoke with a frown and exited the cabin, the stallion following. He yawned as he entered the blinding light. She wasn't embarrassed but she did not want to be seen like this; guiding the notorious mutant like a sleepy young colt. "We'll get something to eat then head for the presentation."

"You can eat, if you wish. I'm not hungry."

"You haven't had anything yesterday and you say you aren't hungry?" She spun to watch him shrug.

"I don't know what to say." He said numbingly. "If you wish to eat, then by all means eat. Don't let me hold you back." He watched her examine him. Alpha knew she was worried, that was given. But she wasn't fairing much either. Coming from a near comatose-state to instantly running the Kingdom and bringing it out of its massive debt under a month sounds like hell for him.

"You aren't alright. You need to eat."

"No shit Sherlock." He said without regret. It took Luna back. Although it was rare for anypony to disrespect her, she knew how to handle it. This, however, was different. Everything _was_ working against him.

Luna, like the others around them, watched the mutant. He was staring off into space, his eyes unblinking and unfocused. The interior of the coffee shop was lit up by the flashes of cameras and the welcoming, soothing orange glow from the sun outside to which he stared at.

She didn't like this. Not one bit. Although from time to time, Alpha showed what was _really_ happening inside, it was usually how he reacted to questions and certain situations, but he mostly hid behind that emotionless frown. Never divulged into the rabbit hole of politics, didn't bother with peers when he had the chance, always staying away from a life he would have owned. All she could do now is make sure he doesn't fall deeper.

He looked at the crowded room. His podium was packed with microphones and tape-recorders. Blinding flashes of light made looking at the audience worse and he struggled to look around. It was all silent though, eerily silent. The flashes seemed to increase in number as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Hi..? I'm Alpha. I was requested by some professor to talk here about…actually, instead of me telling you my story, how about you just ask questions and I answer them." He didn't want to speak his whole story because he really had no idea where to start. His shoulders dropped when every hoof sprang up into the air. "Riiight." He chose one at random and pointed at the mare. "What's your question?"

"Who was Beta?"

Alpha revealed a rare smile as the hooves fell. "Beta was a powerful mutant, ally, and a…close friend of mine. He _was_ the legend we all heard about; the one evil doer who attacked Celestia and went insane. Although most of what he did actually happened, he was pushed to the limit. He didn't go kill because he could, he killed because…in his mind it was the only way to stop all his…pain."

"What pain?"

Alpha sighed. "He's a mutant, like I. Back then, mutants were pretty much discriminated like gays were recently, nearly killed on sight, attacked without regret or sorrow. Bullied after he found his special ability, his friends alienated him, his peers hated him and he was alone. That…amount of pain tends to split one's personality, which is exactly what happened. He ran from home, declared dead by society and came back a couple years later. Push came to shove when his bully recognized him and…" He shrugged. "The Legend was born. Next question."

The hooves sprang back up, he pointed at one at the fell back down. "So what about you? What happened to you?"

His smile faded. "I…am a mutant. Was the King of Equestria and I, with the help of Beta, took down Celestia from her power….and was a…prisoner and colt-worker at a Rainbow Factory a few miles out from the EverFree Forest." He struggled to talk about this subject, about himself. His emotions were still raw and sensitive and he had to remind himself that none of the ponies were statues that he could destroy and repair to let out his emotions.

"And your wings? What are they made of?"

"The right wing is made of a combination of Dark Magic that Beta wouldn't tell me about and Steel, forged in a forge that took _forever_ to heat up and stay at. We created it using scraps and sheet-metal at the factory. The left wing was created during the Final battle, using the remnants of my suit and near-by metal around." He closed his eyes as he opened both wings to their fullest, waiting for the brief landslide of flashes to die down.

Beta watched the college cafeteria from above, his eyes unfocused, all his attention on his hearing. He waited patiently, silently, an owl waiting for a rustle in the leaves on the forest floor. It continued this routine, moving silently from podium to podium near the ceiling. Quickly gaining information of the world outside with the gossip and the chit-chat, _this_ ghost knew the goldmine of hiding out at a College. High school was filled of popularity and bullshit, Middle school was full of endless banter about video games and such; elementary was full of high-pitched voices that rotted his mind. College, however, was full of the adults who focused on politics, current events, and sometimes useless crap.

It was oddly empty. Some event was being held down at one of the history rooms and all he knew was it was holding somepony important. His eyes quickly darted down and tracked the blue Alicorn that walked around with grace, losing his train of thought. Her crown was what told him who she was, not the parade of photographers behind her.

Two brief ideas came to mind: _Luna. _And then: _Alpha._ Emotions bounded into a physical entity, he suddenly felt excited. From those two words, a question formed. _Who should I see first? _He could reunite with Luna and learn what he had missed. Or he could bond back with Alpha and help him continue on.

But the latter was sticky. He _had_ nothing to do. With Celestia no longer in power; his goal complete, he was bored. For so long, he pursued her for revenge but now, as he had finally gotten it, he didn't know what to do next. With a quick glance in the direction of the history classroom and Luna, he jumped down from the podium and galloped as fast as he could, invisible to the living, to his friend.


	60. Chapter 58

Chapter 9: _So many questions. _

When the ghost of a powerful entity, like Beta, bonds with another like themselves, like Alpha, a connection forms between the two. It's a spiritual connection that rarely occurs. When this happens, the two who are bonded share abilities, memories, dreams, and eventually, personalities over time. Abilities, such as any magic or flying skills or talents, are the first to enter through the bond. The second are memories, which one can choose what they want the other to see. The third are dreams, which only happens when both are asleep at the same time.

The fourth happens if, and only if the duo are separated for an extended period of time. And it's usually the eldest of the two whose personalities are shared.

Alpha wasn't doing too good. Too many questions; too much attention, _so much noise_. The urge to cover his ears and wait for it all to quiet down was intense. He was breathing deeply now, doing what he could to keep his emotions at bay.

"And what about Beta, where is he now?"

Each question felt like an arrow or a spell to the chest. "I don't know. He died during the battle." His mouth moved, his brain unresponsive.

"How can a ghost die?"

"They disappear." He wanted this to be over. He didn't want to be here, this wasn't his plan; to come to this place and explain himself. He wanted to hide in the shadows, outside the public's eye. "It's hard to explain."

"Can you please elaborate?"

"No." Alpha felt himself slowly begin to snap. Fighting a losing battle that he didn't want to start.

"Why not?"

"Because I do not wish to!" He slammed his hoof on the podium in a fit of annoyance. "Do you not understand me when I say that I had no plan after I brought down Celestia? Do you not realize that it was a quest of revenge on both sides, Beta's and I? Both of us, brutally beaten and hurt by what she enforced." He let it all out, unable to control himself. "What you think legend and myth, I see and feel reality and pain. What you tell your foals at night in order to do better at school, I experience every hour by the hour. What you imagine, I relive."

Beta watched from the last step of the stairs on the side. His back was against the wall and he constantly looked at the crowd and Alpha, watching, waiting for an attack to prevent.

The room turned silent except for the now increasing number of flashes. Each was taken back from his outburst of unexpected emotion. They watched him lower himself back to the podium. "I do not have a colt-hood. All I know is pain, unstable emotion, and how to kill. I do not have actual wings," He said as he removed his replacements. "I lost mine when I was eleven. Punishment by Celestia as an experiment to see what fear does to a workforce; to see if they work harder or rebel. I do not know school. I do not know math, how to read or how to play a sport. I didn't know what a sport was until I had overheard chatter from a group of high school jocks. My only friend, until I was just about 16, was Beta. Did I realize what he had done when he told me why everypony was afraid of him when he showed himself? I did. But I did not care. When you are alone for so long, at such a young age like I was and where I was, you have _no _choice but to create allies to keep yourself alive. Keep in mind that at the factory, a mistake ends your life. I didn't know what skies looked like, let alone understand or know what a sky was. No idea what clouds were; never saw a tree, or a leaf, or know what _green _was." He paused then added. "I'm done here." And turned to walk off.

"You should have died in the factory like you were supposed to, you fucking freak!"

He was so close to the end of the stage but that insult, that one insult stopped him cold. It was a simple opinion directed and honed into an arrow, thrown at the speed of sound. And Alpha felt his emotions rekindled, revived back to life, pushing through the barrier he was working on to keep them back. He desperately wanted to flee.

And he did just that. Disappearing with a single flash of blue.


	61. Chapter 59

Chapter 10: When Emotions Speak

He _loved_ this effect. The hole was oval-shaped and the world was distorted around it. It looked like a large piece of paper and that somepony had punched a hole into it. The "hole" was a void, empty blackness, and the objects behind it looked ragged and crumpled. It couldn't be seen by the living, but to the dead, almost every type of magical phenomenon or even had its own dazzling and awe-striking effect. He didn't hesitate to jump into the void, no longer caring about any pain or discomfort he would feel compared to if he was alive.

Beta ended up at a neighborhood populated heavily by ghosts. To filter out the living from the endless maze of ghosts, a ghost needs to focus on any specific emotion, if they have any left, until it takes form until the transparent counterpart the living has come to know. He appeared, caught sight of Alpha looking around for any followers, and disappeared before his gaze fell on his position.

It was exciting to him, following his friend without him knowing, but something felt _off._ Though the bond was no longer growing, he was still somewhat connected to Alpha, and could feel or, more specifically, understand his pain. He didn't look happy, then again he really never showed it. The bags under his eyes told him that he didn't sleep often. The way his eyes slowly moved from left to right showed annoyance. The slight movement of his lower jaw moving back, Alpha grinding his teeth, told Beta that he didn't want to be followed.

The fact that he stayed at the entrance of a house for almost an hour told him that he suspected _something_ was following him. Although he wouldn't hear nor see him move, Beta didn't dare to move. Without his knowledge of him being there, Beta could actually find out what was with him. Being bonded had the tendency to mix and weave emotions into one which made it hard to understand what he felt. But from far away, not only was he able to read his body language, but he was able to see Alpha for what he was.

It was different. The last time he saw Alpha this way was so long ago, as he peered in from the ceiling during his punishment. It wasn't a view or a way one would look at their friend with. More like one would look and examine a familiar stranger, trying to grasp how they knew something about them.

Beta looked at the remnants of the Pegasus he helped survive and live. His scar was brown and finally fading into the white hide that made up his muzzle. It cut into his face like the giant crevasses that scar the Earth. The brown eyes scanned for any threat, unlike most his age who would look for friends or would just stare off into space, daydreaming about a life they fantasied would be the most epic. His mane was clumped and frayed, covering the damaged eye who was just beginning to form cataracts. The thin line that made up his lips was frowning.

"_Only 19 and already equipped with the Thousand Yard Stare." _He whispered to himself as he edged forward. The ghost wasn't scared, but was in awe. This pony didn't know laughter, didn't know any games or any songs he liked, void of but the memories and depression left from his actions before. Unlike him, Alpha couldn't remember his family, couldn't remember what is was like sleeping without fear that somepony would kill him one day, couldn't remember the sounds of giggling and laughter of his parents and his sister, all happy and never in pain.

His mane turned from his iconic red to a light pink as he watched his friend turn. His eyes spied the scratches on his side where the wings tend to brush up against. Beta followed him inside, unable to help or console him. The clouds above began to pour rain and rivers of water entered through the holes in the roof, dripping and pit-pattering on the floor and wood. The Stallion walked into the living room and looked around as if just realizing he was in a room.

One spot out of the entire room had not been touched by the rain. It was a small corner, located by what looked like a fireplace, a couch just before it created a little pocket in which he lied down in. The wood inside the fireplace lit up in a golden light that felt warm to just look at. It crackled and popped as it burned, shedding light on the triangular pile of dry wood nearby.

He lied there, just next to the fireplace. On top of his back was a mothballed cotton blanket with the remains of a steam-engine knitted into it. It had lost its color years ago and was a solid blueish grey. Alpha snuggled with the blanket, using it as the only comfort item he now owned. Something not essential to fight with, something that couldn't be used as a weapon.

Something memorable. Something unreal to him.

Beta watched, sitting just ahead of him. He watched his best friend begin to tear up and cry, unable to help and feeling totally useless. The only he could do is wait, watch out for him and watch him cry himself to sleep beside the crackling fire.

* * *

The fire was dead; no heat rose from its ashes. It was quiet, the rain had stopped around an hour ago and all one could hear was the breathing of a sleeping stallion. It was dark, but the bright moon above shed enough light that shadows could be seen on the ground.

His ears flickered to the left and he glanced in the same direction, losing his trail of thought. Beta waited patiently. Again, he heard it in the general direction. It wasn't windy, the trees outside were still. That sound wasn't natural.

The ghost stood up and moved so Alpha was behind him. He heard hide brushing against something wooden and waited. His eyes didn't see it but his ears heard the suit of armor flying through the air, the metal edges whistling. It landed without a sound and Beta watched as it walked past him and stood in front of Alpha. Its horn began to glow. Beta's anger turned his soul into physical being and he appeared behind the suit, visible.

* * *

He woke up to the sound of something crashing through his house's walls. He looked up to see a trail of red move. Darting out of his pocket, the blanket on the ground behind him, Alpha examined the gaping hole in the wall. He watched, frozen, as the golden orb charged him.

He sidestepped right, waited, watched the suit fly through and engulfed it with his blue beam of magic. The assassin crashed through the ceiling and hovered outside in the backyard. Alpha stepped into the moonlight, unaware of Beta on the roof, visible.

It flew at him, dodging his right hook and swung the dagger of black steel. Countered with his right wing, introduce hoof to trachea. It pushed his hoof to the side and jabbed at his chest, bruising and cracking the ribs. A knee to the chin brought the helmet up. An elbow slam onto the throat turned the neck into a V shape. The back hit first, then the whiplash with the helmet bucked the underbelly up. And a ground pound with his all of his weight and unstable emotions behind it dented the armor and caused the armor to curl up into a fetal positon.

"Now," Alpha spoke, his voice hoarse, as he peeled back the armor to reveal the mare within. "Let's actually talk."

The screams of the mare in agony had Beta closely watch Alpha. He watched the stallion he grew up with torture and brutally interrogate her. He broke off the horn and had several of his metallic feather become makeshift and improvised cuffs, holding her to the ground, face-down. Alpha examined her suit, easily peeling it off like wet scotch-tape. "You _will_ tell me who your client is."

Her breathing was ragged but she did not respond. Her mane was a deep purple and her hide was grey. A symbol consisting of a paintbrush painting a trail of fire was located on both sides of her flank.

The stallion's emotions came forth and took over like Beta used to. "Your choice." Her front hooves combusted instantly and the flames slowly advanced closer as she writhed in pain. He walked around to look at her face. His was void of emotion. He didn't flinch, didn't smile, and didn't change his breathing rhythm. The flames disappeared, but the charred bones and gooey skin didn't heal. "Tell me what I want to know."

"I am not afraid of death." She said, telling him off.

He leaned close to her, his muzzle just from her right ear. "There are a lot worse things than death, my dear." Alpha whispered, "I can rape you. No one would believe you when you say that the recent king raped a helpless mare, especially when they think he's gay."

"You are wasting your time. You won't get anything out of me."

His eyebrow rose as her wings caught fire like her hooves and watched them flap, attempting to put them out. Molten bits of feather flew about. The mare opened her mouth to scream only to have her muzzle crushed into ground, biting through her tongue. "How unfortunate." He causally spoke, nodding at the bit of tongue on the dirt. "Would you like something to suck on to get your mind off the pain?" Her eyes, green, looked up at him, tears finally forming. "Or would you like to tell me what I want to know?" A quick nod under his hoof told him the answer and he removed his hoof, healing her tongue. The bones of her wings lay still at her sides.

"I work for Celestia." It came out without a hitch. "She contacted me on-." And paused as he put a hoof on her muzzle.

"That's not what I want. Tell me why she contacted you." He moved his hoof.

"To kill you."

"Only me?"

"For now. She said it was something about a punishment."

He blinked twice. The first blink was a normal blink, to keep his eyes from drying up. During the second blink, his mane glowed bright, his eyes fixated onto hers and Alpha took a deep breath. On the exhale she began to squirm. Then groan, then screamed as her stomach was squished, her upper and lower body following before everything was condensed into a small black hole the size of a golf ball that disappeared a few seconds after.

He finished his exhale and his mane stopped giving off light


	62. Chapter 60

Chapter 11: Joy

He carefully repaired the remains of the suit the mare recently owned and examined it. It was very much like his own, but had a horn when she did not. He presume her to be a fellow mutant and frowned at her choice. The metal was jagged and painted black. The eyeholes did not emit light nor did any part of the suit. He crushed the suit in a ball of metal and sat down on the wet cold grass, the moonlight casting his shadow, bracing for the next wave. He could feel it come for him, just touching his chest. It moved with grace, easily persuading his walls to crumble and fall, coaxing his eyes to tear up and his back to arch down. It affected his right lung first, that cold pressure forming in the middle and lowering until it held the bottom of the lung with a cold hand. Alpha's breathing slowed and began to become choppy. The tears felt hot and he choked on his sobs. Alpha looked up at the moon, hoping to get comfort that Luna was alright

His heart stopped cold.

Beta knew he could see him; knew he could see his red mane, his glowing eyes, his ghostly figure. He revealed himself just long enough for the pony to recognize him, just long enough to rekindle something that had never been lit inside the stallion. For five seconds he revealed himself and it felt like an eternity.

It felt like a shockwave, the sensation rippling and running through his veins as if a punch of warmth socked Depression and kicked it a mile away. His walls felt repaired and he no longer choked on his sobs but his excitement. A simple inhale and Alpha felt the warmth of his first fire once outside the factory when he was 14 blowing against him. The small hairs of his hide stood up, the sensation tingly and fluttering. He could almost _smell_ the dry wood of his first fire, remembering how he felt safe being outside of that wretched place. How naïve he was to think that he was safe. How he knew so little and yet was happy.

Beta smiled as he saw Alpha flash a rare sly grin. He knew the feeling, the positive and comforting feeling of believing a close friend was watching over him. He knew it all too well and now he had given that experience to Alpha. It didn't feel like being safe, nor did it feel as if they agreed with his choice or action. It was more that the presence was comforting. That knowing he was still on this plane calmed his mind.

Alpha's smile only grew bigger when he realized that Beta was gone. The sensation of joy, an emotion he frequently heard but never knew about, exploded within him. He felt jittery, wanting to fly around in excitement. His smile opened and Alpha found himself giggling.

It was the one thing Beta could never really show him. Always going for revenge, it left no space for joy or any real positive emotions. And those that he could feel only felt fake, not genuine. They felt forced, felt weak, never really having any _oompf_ to it. Hearing a stallion that he knew was raised into a world of pain and death giggle was exhilarating. His colors of red changed to a bright pink as he re-experienced the soul-repairing emotion of helping somepony, not _hurting_ somepony.

His wings lit up, grabbing their attention. It flickered at first before flashing bright beautiful neon colors. The tips peeled back, revealing a cast of light and it formed a dome of semi-transparent color around him. Each flash of bright light filled him with joy and awe. Alpha twitched, his mouth open wide as his emotions powered the spectacle. It was green and blue, purple and pink, yellow and orange, here and there dots bloomed into magnificent flowers of vibrant colors. The flowers turned into fractals and those too transformed into smoothing backdrops of light blue canvases.

Beta watched with curiosity as the light moved from the dome, dancing across the grass, lighting up the lawn. It reached out, touching each and engulfing every strand. From above it looked like roots extending from the center of the dome. And they pulsed with every color change like a heartbeat. He giggled with excitement.

The light snaked across until there was no more grass to reach out to. It divulged itself into roots and came upon contact with the cottage. It reached out like a five-fingered hand and upon contact, the wood lost its mold and moss. The hay above regained its color and the glass fragments flew from the ground and connected with each other, forming the windows. Inside, pictures and paintings of long ago retrieved their clarity, carpets and cloth sowed themselves back together. The beds regenerated their stuffing, the springs inside losing their rust. Feathers that littered the floor returned to their pillows and the covers that lost their familiarity floated in the air then covered the beds. The house rebuilt itself with the newly found emotion Alpha had experienced.

The light finally subsided as the last pencil was fixed, neatly and softly lowering itself down on the cedar dining table. It retreated slowly to the dome and the dome pulsed, the stallion inside still frozen and in awe. The sensation subsided, and the dome collapsed, the tips of his wings closing again. They still hummed and pulsed however, scratches here and there that penetrated the metal revealed the dense and powerful magic within.

Alpha turned to look at his newly repaired home. He got up, and walked to the back door, pushing it open and the aroma of an almost unreal memory filled his nose and lungs. The stallion walked in, closed the door and looked around. The Nostalgia was heart-stopping and all that he could do was walk back into his corner and snuggle with his clean blanket. He didn't care that the sun was rising, he didn't care that it was morning and he had to leave. It took five seconds for the pony to fall asleep.

Beta smiled at the happy mutant. Alpha was safe here, which meant he could leave and visit another pony. But as he began to leave, he glanced back and, for a second, felt jealous. He sighed, pushing the thought away and teleported off.


	63. Chapter 61

Chapter 12: " _Loooona…"_

He scampered as he turned the corner, his hooves skidding and slipping on the smooth marble floor. A simple flap of those metallic wings pushed him forward, almost drifting as he galloped down the hallway. The ceiling was too low to fly in and his mind reached the limit as he closed on the traffic-jam of servants and guards that blocked his way. Teleportation was out of the option as he had no idea who or even what was at the end of the hallway. A simple idea formed and he glanced at the wall, changing his direction slightly to the wall, a few flaps of his wings helped the stallion run past the guards and servants as he ran on the wall before landing on the ground, dodging a support column, returning to full speed.

"Luna. Luna. Luna. Looooonnnaaa..." he muttered to himself as he raced past the open doors that lead to rooms where diplomatic meetings were held. "Luna-Luna-Luna-Luna-Luna-Luna," Alpha repeated to himself quickly, trying to calm down his mind. Spotting a set of closed doors with a squad of guards protecting the entrance, Alpha skidded to a halt. He looked for a guard in particularly reflective armor within the squad. For Alpha, he could only tell who was in charge by the _shininess_ of their armor and none of them were shiny. "Shit." Alpha muttered under your breath.

"Sir?" The guard in the middle asked, his spear upright.

"Is Luna in there?" Alpha asked somewhat fast.

"Yes sir."

Alpha nodded, waked past the guards and opened the door. The room was lit up by candle-light only and the curtains were drawn over the windows. In the center of the room stood Luna examining her _Nightmare _armor that stood on a mannequin. Mannequins that held different versions of armor used by those of high royalty status at each wall. The King's armor was facing North, The Queen's facing South, Prince's facing east, and the Princess's facing west. He closed the door quietly and made his way to her side.

It was the first time he had seen her armor on anything but herself. It was much different up close and not being used. Oddly void of scratches and dents, the armor was smooth to the touch and flexible unlike his. The wing section caught his eye. So used to having armor that covers the wing, he was curious to see that it had no armor protecting it.

"Odd." He finally spoke. "Why isn't there armor protecting the wings?"

"You must understand that no-pony fights using their wings like you." She replied calmly. "You were introduced using replacements as wings, metal that could be repaired and not broken. We, those that never had your kind of life-style, those that never lost a wing, aren't used to that. We are used to having our wings being very sensitive to touch. We are used to having our wings fragile and delicate, the bones within, although light and flexible, aren't strong enough to use as weapons." Luna spoke softly as she examined her armor. "Where were you?"

"Home."

She glanced down at him. "Home? What home?"

Alpha sighed and shifted his stance, glancing around. "I found my home. The cottage I lived in before I was abandoned."

"How do you know it was yours?"

"I entered it. It was familiar and empty, so I explored it and found pictures of a family." He reached to his right wing and pulled a wrinkled picture out from underneath the cast. It floated to Luna, consisting a family of three; a mare, a stallion, and a colt scar-less face and white preened wings on his back and he was smiling. "Look familiar?"

Luna didn't reply but she slowed her breathing. It didn't settle well with her that Alpha located and explored his colt-hood cottage. It'd would lead to even worse depression and more regret for him. His voice already hinted at something growing within. "Very cute. Did you come here to tell me this?"

"No." He sat down and looked up at her. "I saw somepony I thought gone today."

Luna sighed. "We have been over this, Alpha. He isn't back."

"Then there isn't any explanation for what I felt."

"What happened?"

Alpha smiled, a first for Luna to see, as he began to think of a way to explain what he felt. It did nothing but spark her curiosity like the first time she heard of Discord long before. He began to chuckle, giggle even, revealing the crooked and chipped set of teeth within. "My-My-My chest felt tingly." He stuttered as he spoke. "The Wings. My-My-My wings opened! And it revealed a wing of…bright colorful light."

As he explained, her eyes were drawn to his wings. Though folded and inactive, the scratches that dug deep enough glowed faint blue. Looking directly at the scratches, she could not pick up any light, but looking at Alpha's eyes, she could see the outline of his wing in a glowing color that changed often in the corner of her eye. "It's you emotion."

"And the house repai- what?"

Luna herself smiled down at Alpha. "It's emotion."

"I know that, I just don't know what emotion it is."

"Nononono. You don't understand. That light inside your wing that you saw was emotion."

"You aren't making sense."

"Listen, when you are angry, your wings glow, right?"

He nodded, still confused as ever.

"Do they change color or stay a single color?"

"They stay dark blue as always, but what does that have to do with-?"

"LISTEN!" Luna interrupted. "Emotion is used for magic, Right? Well, the type of magic depends on the emotion. You, being used to using anger and rage as your emotion of choice because that's all what Beta used, never have used any other emotion as a primary source of energy."

"That's not true! I beat Celestia with Forgiveness!"

"Forgiveness isn't an emotion, it's an action. What you felt was probably, most likely, confidence. But that isn't the point!"

"What is the point then? What did I feel!?"

"You felt what everpony else calls "Joy.""

"Joy?"

"Yeah. The reason why this type of emotion feels alien to you is because of your bond with Beta. Which proves," she said slowly. "That you saw him."

"So you do believe me!"

She nodded. "For once, I do."

"But what do you mean when you say that the bond between Beta and I is why I never felt this way before?"

"Let me teach you," The Princess spoke with a grin. "Have you broken down like you have recently when Beta was with you?"

_Some flashbacks from the past please._

"Once, the day after I learned about Celestia's punishment for homosexuality and blasted a wall with magic for the first time."

"Alright." Luna nodded. "Can you remember when you were that hurt before then?"

He shook his head. "No." He raised an eyebrow as he watched her grin. "What?"

Luna looked on, walking away from him and her armor and glanced at the armor that lined the room's walls. "What else did you feel during your long bond with Beta, hmm? Any Joy? Happiness?" She watched him shake his head and watched in her mind the pieces of the puzzle that he represented fall into place. "I'm sure you know you have, but can't remember them, right?" Again he nodded slowly. "Lemme tell you something, when a soul bonds to another soul, things are transferred over between the two, right? You felt it before, you've experienced Beta's dreams, seen his memories, felt his anger?"

"Yeah." He replied. Alpha was sitting down now, his right wing floating in front of him, examining it. "So?

"You don't understand any of this, do you?"

"No, not really."

Luna sighed. "You are beginning to feel these emotions because Beta's side of the bond is depleting."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"What part of what I just said does not make any sense?"

"Why would it be depleting?"

"Think of it like this: have you played with fire before?"

"Once."

"When you moved away from the fire, did you stay warm?"

He shook his head. "No, I got cold."

"The same thing happens with bonds. If one leaves, the bond shrinks because it isn't in use anymore."

"So, if the bond is shrinking," He paused to look at Luna, his wing returning to place, "then these emotions are mine?"

"For the first time, yes."

"So the reason I'm depressed isn't because of Beta's disappearance, it's because it's the depression I felt back when I was in the factory?"

"No. Emotions don't work like that." _They do but not it that way, and that's beside the point. _It confused her and made her feel sorry for the stallion, the fact that now, after so long, he is beginning to actually feel his own emotions. "Sombra knows about this subject more than I. Delta would probably know more than him."

"And Beta would know more than him." He continued the trail.

"No. He wouldn't."

"Huh?" Alpha stood up as Luna sat down before him. "Beta doesn't know everything, Alpha. He doesn't know a lot of what you do."

"Like what?"

She looked up to him "Like what it's like to live beyond the age of 18." She frowned. "You need to get into your thick skull that Beta was…"

Alpha watched her, watched her look for the right word. Luna always knew more than Beta than he did, he knew Luna and Beta knew each other a _bit_ more than they should, when she did talk about him she sounded as if they were close but he never really asked about it. "Was what?"

"Was young when he died."

"He died by Celestia's hoof, I know. It's one of the first thing he told me about himself."

"Yes, but I doubt he told you that he had a _choice_ to attack Celestia."

This didn't make any sense. Beta told him that Celestia went out for him, attacked him and killed him to stop his rampage. That's the way it happened. He killed the last bully and only had a few hours before he would have to take on Celestia to stop her from stopping him.

"Ask Delta about the way Beta died." Luna continued.

"I saw his memories, I saw through his eyes how he died." Alpha replied.

"Don't be naïve, Alpha." She said with a smile. "We both know that every story has two sides."


	64. Chapter 62

_One hundred Thirty Thousand Words (before this chapter)._  
_Eighteen Thousand views (before this chapter)._  
Good lord. I apologize for the two weeks I missed. Wasn't writer's block but it was because I was on vacation, off the grid with no wi-fi.  
Anyway, ignore this as it's not part of the story. Thanks for the views and some reviews would be nice.  
_**I have no idea when this story will end. **_

* * *

Chapter 13: Pride

Once outside back in the hallway, Alpha frowned in disgust at the thought of speaking with Sombra. Sure, he was his ally and a damn necessity during the battle but he didn't like waiting a month to attack. Strategy was fun but Alpha liked seeing the enemy, rather than hoping that it was there and sending ponies to do what he knew best. He wanted skip over the boring crap that was supposed to sugar coat the knowledge.

"Sombra can wait." He said to himself, tilting his neck to the side and cracking it again and sighed with relief. "I need a fight!"

He was itchy to get back into that Zen field that he found himself in during intense moments. Stomping his front hooves on the floor a couple of times, Alpha took off at full speed and teleported just outside the wall, allowing his momentum to send him plummeting for the ground below.

It was bright and he wasn't expecting it. He pulled up just in time and flew awkwardly as he attempted to cover his eyes, blinded by the sun. The stallion, through barred hooves, landed on the nearest cloud and waited as his eyes opened. Once they did, they watered intensely and shut, refusing to open. Alpha stood there awkwardly, waiting for his eyes to get used to the sun.

With his eyes still closed, he focused more on his hearing and allowed his eyes to relax. A deep breath in through the muzzle allowed him to smell the water in the cloud below him and the crispness of the air. Breathing out, a grin began to form on his lips and his chest felt fuzzy.

Six years ago, he escaped the factory. Six years ago he took to the air for the first time. And horribly failed. With the help of a ghostly legend, he survived not only to help those inside but get revenge on the Alicorn that decided to make his life worse for a simple experiment. The feeling of accomplishment created a sense of pride within and his wings began to glow a bright pink.

He stood there, engulfed with this odd _sensation_. The grin turned into a smile that went from ear to ear and he took another breath in, feeding the life that bloomed within. He felt the vibration underneath his hooves of another pony landing beside and, for once, ignored it and focused on himself.

"Watcha smiling at, freak?"

He opened one eye and looked at the pony speaking to him and felt his pride shift into nostalgia. The tan-colored mare gave him a crooked smile. "Long time no see, Scoots."

Scootaloo giggled and shook her purple mane to the side. "It's been a year, Alpha." She replied as she shifted her stance and jumped onto the adjacent cloud. "It hasn't been _that_ long."

"I see or rather I hear that you can fly now." He replied, his eyes still refusing to open.

"Yup." He could hear her prance in place. "Your friend Charlie helped me."

"Charlie helped you?" Alpha replied with a chuckle. "What did he do?"

"He suited me up in armor and shoved me off a cliff."

"Did it help?"

"I learned how to glide before crashing into the ground and breaking my muzzle in the process."

He laughed out loud. "I did the exact same thing."

"Huh?"

His eyes began to open, albeit slowly and he finally was able to examine the mare. No longer a filly, Scoot's mane wasn't combed but it wasn't frayed like his own. Her smile revealed that she was missing her front tooth and a chipped one, which proved what Charlie did. "I…" he hesitated, looking for the right word. "Once I escaped, the first time I escaped from the factory, I didn't really know how to fly."

"How come?"

"Think of it: It's a factory designed to kill. I was its prisoner and prisoners don't have many freedoms." He said with a shrug, almost as if he was dismissing the effect of the past on him. "I didn't know how to use my wing," He flapped his right brace. "Correctly and I glided, aiming for what seemed to be a village."

He watched her mouth the name of the village and nodded. "Yeah, I clipped a tree and hit another with my head, knocking me out." Alpha smiled, revealing his own set of crooked, missing and chipped teeth. "How's your dad?"

"He's doing well." She replied. "How have you been doing?"

"I've been doing quite horrible until yesterday."

"Oh? What happened yesterday?"

"I-… Long story short, I experienced Joy for the first time." He watched as he expected her to let her jaw drop open.

"Whaddayamean you experienced Joy for the first time!?" She shot back in surprise, stomping her front hooves on the cloud. He didn't respond verbally by gave her another smile and pranced around in a small circle. "I take it you liked it."

"Is there something better than "like"?"

"Love?"

"I loved it."

"You can't really love an emotion."

"Why not? It was more of a sensation really."

She groaned. "I do not wish to explain emotions. To be frank, they are really hard to explain."

He nodded. "It's alright." Now, being accustomed to the light, he looked around. "How's Ponyville? Has it been rebuilt yet?"

She nodded. "Nearly complete. Just rebuilding the outermost cottages and such."

Alpha nodded in pride. "Good."

"Why? Alpha," Scootaloo spoke hesitantly. "Are you expecting another battle?"

"What? No." He partially lied. On one hoof, he wanted a battle so he could fight but on the other hoof he liked the peace and quiet, although it had him bored as ever. "I'm just itchy."

"We all get like that. Tense, ready for anything and almost wanting something bad to happen so we can run after it." The sensation in his chest exploded and his wings grew much brighter. So bright that Scootaloo noticed it and jumped onto his cloud. "Allllphhaa…" She said slowly.

"They are glowing, I know." He replied, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment.

"Why are they glowing?"

"I-I-It's emotion." He stuttered as he began to focus on the emotion. "What you see is my emotion taking a physical form."

"But why?" She was confused and hopped back onto her cloud, cautious. "Why are they taking physical form?"

"Because it's that intense." His legs shivered and wobbled as the sensation filled his body with pride. But unlike Joy, a dome did not unravel and it died out fairly quickly. She watched him pant and felt awkward watching him regain his posture.

"Are…are you alright?"

He nodded twice before giggling. "Do unicorns use these types of emotions for magic?"

"I guess. I don't really know. I'm not a unicorn." She watched him nod again and prance around in a circle. He kind of reminded her how she acted just after learning how to glide. "Hey Alpha?"

"Mmm?" He hummed as he stopped prancing and looked at her.

"I gotta leave. I only came here to say hello."

For a second, only for a second, he felt as if he was her friend by the way she talked to him. It was weird. He couldn't remember when somepony asked how he was doing or even insulted him in a friendly way. For once, he felt as if she was unafraid of him.

Almost like he was with Beta, not really caring what he did because he could relate to him.

"Alright." He replied. "Thanks for stopping by."

She gave him a nod and jumped off her cloud. He watched her plummet before pulling up and gracefully glide to Ponyville.

It took around five minutes to realize that he missed her company.


	65. Chapter 63

Chapter 14: Quick and Efficient or Brutal and Sadistic

Alpha occasionally visited the vastly populated cities once in a while, usually to check in to see if he could help calm the criminal rates or just to explore. But just now, he noticed something _odd_. When he was by himself, not in a group of strangers, ponies kept to themselves, but their eyes seemed to fixate on him before looking, as if they were making sure that he was there. That was normal; being a well-known mutant had its problems.

No, what was odd was the two foot radius of space he was given when he got close to others. Ponies would ignore him when he was young but now they seemed afraid. He tried asking others to see what was wrong, why they were leaving him alone, giving him space. Every time he asked however, they shook their heads and mumbled, afraid of angering the powerful and notorious mutant.

Just leaving his teenaged years, Alpha felt as if he was back into the factory with this alienation that he has been encountering. It was confusing as it was maddening; not knowing why everypony was ignoring him. He knew they knew he was visible, for if he used his magic the ponies would stare at him.

At night, however, he was considered as a Grim Reaper. Always seen in glimpses, Alpha would return to the city in full armor and stalk the city's alleyways. He wasn't seen as a good-guy, as usually his victims, those in the criminal-life, were found dead in bloodied heaps of flesh in alleyways a good day or two after their death.

Although it happened rarely, at day, Alpha was seen doing what he did best. It ended always like the last; each victim dead or destroyed with the victor walking way as if nothing happened. His hide was turning almost a light pink from the iron in the blood being absorbed into the hairs.

Today was one of those rare days. Surrounded in the middle of the street, seven changelings attacked the mutant. The first got a hind hoof to the temple. The second had its throat slit by his ring wing and the third, stunned by the blood splatter, had its horn removed. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth were blasted by magic that left no remains and the third and seventh were killed as he used the horn as a dagger. The eighth fired off a shot that nearly hit the mutant.

His tree-bark brown eyes met the eighth's, a young unicorn in the crowd who thought a well-timed shot would take him down. Another spell raced towards him, but already knowing who shot it, Alpha deflected it with his wing and began advancing towards the unicorn.

The unicorn began to panic, pushing ponies out of his way as the mutant gave chase, galloping with unbelievable speed. Alpha slid under a carriage and jumped onto the next, catching up with the young stallion, watching him bump into other ponies and crash into tables for restaurants and coffee shops.

He was punished by Celestia's might as his hooves tripped over the chair that he knocked down and when he looked up, he found Death staring down on him, standing right beside him with a hoof on his back, keeping his down.

"Why," He spoke with a growl. "Did you try to murder me?"

He tried to speak but nothing came out. Too afraid, fearing a painful death, the unicorn mumbled and stuttered incoherently. "I-I-I-I-I'm sorry!" He finally was able to say. Tears were now streaming uncontrollably down his cheeks and he gasped for air. "D-d-don't kill me!"

"Answer the question."

The stallion didn't answer the question but instead began to plead with the mutant to spare his life. He claimed that it was a mistake and one he will never commit again. That he will leave this city and banish himself to exile, claiming that he would go through a life of pain and alienation as payment of what he had attempted to do.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen. Just don't kill me, please!"

Seventeen. Two years younger than him and attempting, with little to no knowledge on how to fight or kill, to murder the mutant that took down the Princess of Equestria. Alpha was surprised. Something had to be threatening these ponies to take him down.  
Or that they just _really_ hated him.

Alpha removed his hoof and slid his left wing gently under the stomach of the now screaming and crying stallion and picked him up. "I'm not going to kill you. And you don't need to go through all that pain and shit because you attempted to take me out."

But he was already long gone, taking the chance to gallop away from the mutant. Alpha wanted to go after him, to tell him that the exile crap was not needed. A quick glance around told him what he already knew and he felt alienated with the then two to three foot radius that extended to the now four to five foot radius. It was weird that it didn't hit him yet, the waves hadn't come to drag him down.

He instead turned and walked back to the group of dead changelings. All were in their place save the first one that he attacked, the blood trail that he left behind told him he didn't get far and his corpse only a few yards away set the fact in concrete.

For Alpha, it was normal. Killing was what he did; was what he was introduced to as a young colt; was what he knew when it came to any danger for his life. But for _them_. For the civilians, for anyone that wasn't involved with the factory, wasn't involved with the battles, it was taboo.

The stallion knew since he broke out of that place with Beta for the first time that he wasn't going to be the good pony of the story. Never will be the hero, never will be the knight in shining armor. Alpha glanced in the direction of where he saw the eighth attacker and frowned.

He felt, as he briefly looked back to his fights, that he tried to make his blows quick and efficient and painless. Each jab, each slice of his wings, each blast of magic was supposed to end the danger of one pone and minimize their pain during their inevitable dirt nap.

But as he looked at each pone who stared at him, he knew nearly instantly their fear, their desire for him to be no more. To have him off the streets so no pony can be hurt or killed in such a brutal fashion like the changelings just were.

To them, Alpha was Brutal and Sadistic. Always killing when death can be avoided. Always choosing the violent ending rather than the peaceful one. To him, he was doing what he was taught when he was young.

"_Alpha?"_

His head turned slowly and his recognized his ex. His eyes were green and they were examining his facial features: watching his frown, his eyes blink, his ears twitch, and his shoulders move.

"_Are you alright?"_ Delta asked, concerned.

Delta watched Alpha open his mouth to respond and saw the saliva trail within that was connected with his upper and lower jaw. It was thick and based on how Alpha reacted when he recognized him, specifically how his ears began to droop and how long it took his eyes to fixate on his, he knew he was experiencing something negative.

"Tell me something, Delta…" He stuttered as the emotion caused his ears to fall down. "Am I…Quick and Efficient? Or am I Brutal and Sadistic?"


	66. Chapter 64

Chapter 15: History Lessons and Stuttered Screeches

Delta stared at him, his eyes wide and his jaw dropping slightly, not enough to show the set of teeth the two shared but enough to form a frown. He struggled internally to keep Charlie where he was so he could aid Alpha. But first, he needed to set the line for Alpha.

"_According to _them_," _He spoke with a nod towards the side. _"Brutal and Sadistic." _Delta watched Alpha's gaze drop to the street then slightly towards the corpses.

"They keep isolating me…giving me space as if I'm some sort of ticking time bomb." Alpha felt his loneliness turn hostile as if someone was slowly turning the knob. He glared at those who stared at him. "Why can't they just understand?"

The ghost noticed his lower jaw slide back as he gritted his teeth, his chest moving slowly, his wings slowly coming back to life and extending half-way, and that besides the four moving parts he stayed perfectly still. Delta saw this once before and after learning his mistake, knew he couldn't let it happen again. Charlie was fighting hard, but Delta ignored him.

"_Alpha, focus on me." _He spoke slowly. _"Not on them, they don't know any of what you- what we have been through." _

His wings relaxed but he refocused his glare on Delta. "Why can't they understand?"

"_Understand what? Understand that you were just a colt when you were introduced to death? Introduced to slaughter and genocide?"_ He knew damn well what was exactly happening. It wasn't the anger Delta was worried about, it wasn't about the fact that if Alpha can't control his anger he'll become a much more powerful version of Beta.

"Yes!" He slammed his front hoof on the street. "Why can't they fucking realize that it's all I know?"

He thought about telling him to take some deep breaths, to get oxygen into his system so he can calm down. The problem with that idea is that Delta knows too well that telling somepony to take deep breaths when they are _this_ pissed off doesn't always work. If it does work it leaves the said pone with unanswered questions that can easily reignite their flame.

_So then let's let him explain it on his own._ Delta told himself. Charlie had stopped fighting and instead listened and watched Delta figure this problem out.

"_Alpha, look around you."_

"I know they're fucking staring at me."

_You had to give him your impatience, Beta._ _"No, look at them." _

Alpha glanced side to side, examining the crowd. "What the fuck am I looking for?"

"_Does anypony have a scar across their face?"_

He snapped back violently. "Are you trying to compare me with them!? That isn't the fucking problem, Delta."

"_Does anypony, look,"_ Delta replied, both ignoring and answering his question. _"Does anypony have metallic wings?"_

"No." He replied with an annoyed growl.

"_Where any in the factory at the same time of your punishment?"_

"No."

Delta heard him take a deep breath. _"Let me tell you something, Alpha. When you bond with somepony, there are both perks and downsides. You already know the perks but you don't know the downside."_

"So what is the downside then?" Alpha felt his anger settle down.

"_When one bonds with another for as long as you had with Beta or as long as I have with Charlie, when the bonded partner leaves, there are side effects." _Delta knew he had him locked. _"You have probably already encountered one already."_

"…Emotions that I never had before." Alpha sighed.

"_What have you felt?"_

"Joy was the first. Then Pride. And now-."

"_Guilt. What you felt when you asked me if you were quick and efficient or brutal and sadistic, that's guilt." _

Alpha was silent for a few minutes. His breathing was normal, his wings no longer glowing or extended. "How," He finally stated, "How do you know this?"

"_I went through something similar."_

Alpha shook his head. "Beta told me you died during the Battle of the Victims. He also said that you were bonded with Sombra."

Delta reached out and grabbed Alpha's shoulder before teleporting, bringing him with him, away from the streets. They ended up near a swamp somewhere in the Everfree forest. Unlike what he remembered, Alpha felt acquainted with the forest. When he was young, he hid in the forest because he had nowhere else to go, nowhere to live. He felt safe back then because Beta looked out for him.

But this was different. Without Beta, Alpha expected himself to feel insecure, on edge almost in the Everfree Forest. He didn't expect to feel watched over by it.

"_Let's get some things straight here." _Delta spoke as he moved the gravel beneath him to the side and created himself a less pointy seat. _"I was an earth pony. My ability was not combat or unicorn magic."_

"Your ability allowed you direct contact with the kings and queens of the past."

"_Sombra never bonded to me. Not directly at least."_

Alpha looked around for something to sit on. A closer expectation revealed that the swamp was not a swamp at all but a pond whose reflection was perfect. If one didn't notice the occasional ripple from the stalagmites above, one would assume it was in reality a giant mirror. Following a small incline was a hole, which he presumed was the opening of this cave. He picked up the sound of birds chirping and assumed it was still daytime. He looked up from the pond and at Delta. "So, how do you know of all this?"

"_In history before us, Kings and Queens have used this bond technique with their offspring in order to pass on knowledge and strategies after they have passed on."_

"And because your ability gave you access to all of them, they taught you, in return, how to bond." But Alpha was still confused. "But how did Beta learn to bond?"

"_The Moon and the Centaur were Teachers."_

"Luna and Tirek taught Beta how to bond? But how?! Luna was banished on the Moon and Tirek was in Tartarus." Alpha replied, sitting down on the gravel.

Delta smiled. _"The Legend of Nightmare Moon states that 1000 years ago, Princess Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon, a darker evil version of herself, and attempted to take Equestria from her sister Princess Celestia. She failed, as we all know, and was banished for 1000 years on the moon."_

"And Beta died 900 years ago. So they were a century off, but how does that explain how Luna taught Beta?"

"_Did Beta ever tell you how he came to find his ability? How he first used magic?" _

"He watched Celestia raise the moon, looked around a saw a rock floating beside him."

"_He, after jumping in fright and the rock falling to the ground, then looked around to realize he was alone. He had the idea to lift the rock himself without touching the rock but it did not budge. A second glance up at the moon then another glare at the rock, he felt that weird hypnotizing feeling and ta-da! The rock flew up without physical contact." _

"I presume he told you this many of times."

Delta nodded. _"But he does tell you the answer to your question."_

"How?" He was confused. The story was sound, Delta confirmed it but how did it answer his question? "If The Moon and the Centaur were teachers, and Beta watched the moon rise as Celestia raised it then found out about his ability, how the hell did Luna teach Beta?"

"_He learned his ability at nighttime. What is the only source of light at night?" _

"The moon. But this doesn't make any sense!"

"_It does if you think about it!"_

"Just tell me the damn answer already!"

"_I am, Alpha! Beta found out about his gift at night. If Luna was banished 100 years prior to Beta's birth, that means she was still somewhat alive during that night."_

"Are you telling me Luna made him a mutant?"

"_I'm telling you that Luna taught Beta History at Night."_

"How? Her physical form was banished to the moon."

"_Ah,"_ Delta shook his hoof at Alpha like an old man would shake his finger at a disobedient child. _"But we both know Luna patrols dreams of colts and fillies alike, regardless of their gifts."_

Alpha dropped his voice to a low whisper. "She taught him in his dream?"

Delta nodded. _"I didn't believe him when he told me at first, but then She visited my dreams as well. She taught him history unlike any teacher could have ever done before. Even Sombra couldn't teach as well as she did."_

"Because it was a dream."

"_And dreams can be anything they want to be." _

"And when dreams weren't enough, she gave him another solution."

Delta nodded. _"A way into the castle. She knew the guard rotation shifts, knew the layout and was able to map these out for Beta."_

Alpha chuckled. "So he wasn't lucky that he never got caught. He had somepony that knew it by heart. So how does Tirek tie in with this?" Although he was moderately interested in Bonds, specifically the bond between himself and his friend, anything about Beta from a known source of mostly accurate knowledge always took priority.

"_That's the other side of the story. You see Luna knew how to bond, but she didn't know how to obtain the energy needed to bond otherwise she would have bonded with Beta. At this time, Beta was mastering his art of magic better than any unicorn besides Celestia. He not only could teleport himself, but could teleport other objects perfectly. He could teleport ponies without physically touching them."_

"Bullshit!"

"_It's not bullshit at all. At this time, Beta was helping me enter the castle to learn with him. At that time, we were close friends."_

"But he told me he was alone, that he had no friends."

"_He also didn't tell you about Luna either." _Delta frowned. _"Beta now needed to know how to fight. Luna was an expert on martial arts but she needed to be physically there as in a dream, you can be as fast as light if you wish. Tirek was the only one Luna knew that could teach Beta the skills of fighting and how to obtain a vast amount of energy for such an act of magic." _

"_Tirek was somewhat power hungry still when Beta first met him. I was with him as Sombra and StarSwirl were needed to get us past the security locks and that three-headed dipshit excuse of a dog. When we finally met him, Tirek attempted to absorb Beta's and I's power by pretending to be friendly in hope to get us to physically touch him. StarSwirl and Sombra didn't allow that to happen." _

"So how did you get him to accept to teach Beta how to fight?"

"_It was quite awesome, in my opinion anyway. StarSwirl and Sombra were trying to negotiate Tirek into helping us, and each attempt was given the finger. Annoyed and not wanting to waste time, Beta walked up to Tirek's cage and glanced at the two ghosts and at Tirek. He could see Tirek's boredom and decided to entertain him. Using his abilities, he teleported Tirek outside his cage. Although surprised, The Centaur attempted to attack."_ Delta paused, frowning. _"I then listened and watched as Beta revealed what he really intended to do with what he was taught." _

Alpha watched as Delta appeared next to Charlie's body. As he did so, Charlie's body seemed to relax and his breathing seemed to slow down as he fell asleep. Delta bit his lower lip as he continued to explain.

"_Alpha, Beta's original plan, as he explained to me a year before we left for Tartarus was to not to kill a living soul, regardless of specie, and to force Celestia to step down from the throne. I…"_ His glowing transparent eyes glanced up at Alpha, then to Charlie, then to the Mirror Pond to which he made his way to. _"I was both angered and scared of his brutal and sadistic plan. The idea of killing was still considered very, very taboo to us but to know his anger had reach to the stage where it had turned into willpower, I began to ask him to consider. But by that time, Tirek had not only agreed with Beta's plan with praise, but, with a rare act of compassion, picked up the giggling pony and held him."_

Charlie's body took a deep breath in and when he let it out, it sounded full of regret. Alpha walked to him and watched him sit at the edge of the pond, his back hunched over and his head hung.

"_Alpha, those who bond to the living bond so they can pass down essential knowledge, to feel alive again and-slash-or to be seen once more."_ He turned to glance at the stallion, jealous of him being the mortal. _"As you already know, we aren't normal. Our souls are halved to where as if one was not a mutant, one's soul would be complete. This is why when we die, we return as ghosts for our souls are yet not complete." _

"So why didn't Zeta and Gamma return after they died?" Alpha asked, feeling sympathetic to the ghost.

"_As I just said, we are halves. The reason why we can only bond with other mutants is because when you add two halves together, you get the whole."_

"When one bonds to another, their soul becomes whole? Wait, does that mean that Zeta and Gamma never returned was because they had actually moved on?"

Delta nodded and continued with an odd grin. _"Tirek taught us something Luna could never understand nor could have understood at that time. No energy was needed to bond a ghost to a soul." _

Alpha tilted his head to the side and stood up, wiping his flank from the pebbles that was stuck with his tail. He opened his mouth but then closed it. He stood there, staring at Delta as he slowly figured out the problem. "If our souls are halves…the only thing one needs to bind is to find the other half."

Delta nodded his head slowly. _"Luna did not know that the soul of a mutant needs to be the other half of the ghost."_

"But why, if you did not like his plan, did you agree with Beta?"

"_Because I did not know at the time that killing a mutant wouldn't stop them unless they were bonded with another mutant."_

His eyes widened. "Beta's back-up plan." Alpha spoke in a whisper. "I'm the back-up plan in the event that he died."

"_He had a choice to attack Celestia head on or not. If he would have waited, he would've had the army that I created with the mutants that were left alive during his rampage." _Delta explained. _"But he felt as if the seven bullies he had left deserved a "visit" and declared that it was personal." _

"And the army of mutants, where are they? Are-Are they-?"

Delta nodded again with a small smile. _"They are waiting. When they died, as they returned as a ghost, I and the rest of the fallen kings and queens explained to them what we know and about how to bond."_

"And Beta, what happened to him after he died?"

Delta opened his mouth to respond but he stop short, closed his mouth and quickly glanced around, causing Alpha to do the same. Charlie woke up slowly, yawned and stretched before looking around, glancing at Alpha who gave a quick jump of his eyebrows in response. The three stayed still and quiet. All Alpha could hear was the sound of own heartbeat and the small scratching of his feathers moving against each other. But it was oddly quiet.

_Plop. _

The three whipped around to see the surface of the pond rippling. The stalagmites above were still but their tips were void of their droplets.

"Delta, bond back to Charlie," Alpha spoke slowly as he extended his wings. The blue glow within his wings died down and turned black.

Delta did as he was told and Charlie shivered as he felt him bond to him. The ground rumbled again. Stalagmites fell from the ceiling and into the water, causing the two living ponies to gallop out of the cave.

Delta and Charlie froze and Alpha felt his anger begin to boil. The moon was in the sky, fragmented and destroyed, chunks slowly drifting off in all directions. The sun behind it shed light through the cracks and holes of the moon. The sky was red from the smoke that was caused by the planetary destruction from the loss of Equestria's moon.

They teleported at the same time to the mountain's armory.

"_I thought you said you killed her…" _Delta replied as Charlie allowed the suit to encase him.

"I never said that. I said I defeated her."

"_Why aren't you suiting up?"_

"Mine's at the castle."

"_There is no way you can get it in that mess."_

Alpha looked around. Delta was right, assuming that Celestia was free and was causing havoc at Canterlot, a stray shot would down him permanently. But these suits were tinkered and honed as well as his own. And a quick check of his wings revealed them to still be battle worn although they were now repairing themselves with the suits around him.

"_Alpha, Luna's dead."_

Everything was spiraling out of control. "Delta, if I die, because of my bond with Beta, will I not come back?"

Delta shrugged. _"He's not currently with you, so I wouldn't know."_

Alpha groaned and his wings twitched rapidly. He was stressed out and he didn't know what to do. "I need an army."

"_We don't have one."_

He spied the suits behind Delta and smiled. _The Pony of Rage_ was missing from its stand. "Yes we do." He began to speak quickly. "Tell the dead to bond with the suits like Beta did and meet me in the castle." A nearby suit powered up and encased him as he galloped by.

"_And what will you be doing?!"_ Delta cried out from within the armory. Alpha was already long past earshot but he knew the question anyway.

Alpha galloped as fast as he could, opened his wings and felt his hooves lift from the floor. He heard the buzzing of the insect-like wings of his allies and smiled. Some were in armor, others were in bare skin. Most gave a stuttered screech which, for Alpha, was equivalent of a giggle. He gave in too, giggling and laughing as they reached his speed.

"Listen up," He spoke as he flew. "You have my permission to eat her flesh when we defeated her." The statement was given more stuttered screeches and he broke the sonic barrier shortly after with the company of those who could achieve such a feat.


	67. Chapter 65

Chapter 16: Rusty-Red and Graphite-Grey

Two of Royal Guards surrounded the walls of the burning city. One side was facing outwards, spells and arrows flew through the air, cannons blasting in succession, all aimed at the incoming army of Changelings and a suit of flying armor. The other side was pointed inside, keeping those running from the smoke and fire from leaving. Their spears and glowing horns kept the victims at bay.

Alpha held back, allowing the first and second waves of changelings to attempt the first assault and rejoined with the last wave, the third. He deflected spells and the arrows broke upon impact of the armor. Cannon balls hurling as fast as he could fly were nigh impossible to dodge and instead he flew under their aim, shooting off spells to destroy the wall that they were stationed on. But because he was more focused on dodging, his spells were off, impacting the ground and flying just above the cannons. They grabbed the attention of the cannons and two of the twenty began to lower their barrels and aim at the Pegasus closing in.

He was close, fifty yards away when he took a cannonball to the chest. It dented the armor and broke several of his ribs. The stallion growled in anger, dived towards the ground and landed, galloping towards the wall. Dull thuds of lead balls hitting the dirt felt like loud heartbeats as he ran by. Their aim was getting better as the guards above began to panic. Arches aimed their bows and unicorns rained magic upon the stallion in armor who was no more than 25 yards away.

He raised his eyes and watched as the cannons turn towards him, the arches tracking him and a group of unicorns firing an unrelenting and unmerciful river of neon spells towards him and grinned as the cannons stopped firing. He was too close to the wall for them to fire safely and instead aimed back at the fourth wave of changelings that were coming through the horizon

The spells he fired, yellow and white, sped away and upon contact with the wall seemed to do nothing at first. Alpha chuckled at their confusion as he ran through the wall, the bricks bouncing harmlessly off of him, unbound by the laws of gravity and their mortar disappeared.

The fourth wave sped at the wall without fear. The fourteenth cannon fired and both the cannon ball and the cannon moved. The cannon ball forward and the cannon itself backwards, killing the two ponies behind it, destroying the wall and dented the road behind the wall as it bounced off, spinning endlessly. With archers firing off the last of their arrows, the wave of changelings flew through, unleashing havoc.

She was hiding between barrels and rubble in the alleyway. Her parents disappeared when the cannons started firing. "Stay here and don't move until we get back." They told her. The cannons were loud, each bang she could feel in her bones. She couldn't hear herself think. Too afraid to cry, too scared to run, the filly stayed where she was.

Then they found her. A group of guards across the road saw the glint in the rubble and ran towards her. She ran out, hoping that they were there to help her. The Royal Guards helped her before once when she got lost at a carnival. But the fear crept into her chest and she halted as they didn't seem too friendly, their spears aimed at her. They were galloping too. She never saw somepony gallop that fast. And they were angry. Their screams sounded mad.

So she ran back into the safety of her hiding spot and as she turned around, she saw a figure standing in front of her view. It didn't seem equestrian. It stood like a statue she saw in Canterlot a few weeks ago. Clad in black and blue, this figure had the group of guards frozen. She poked her head out to see its wings, grey and pointy.

It didn't run away when the guards began to slowly advance. Instead, it moved so she was behind it and all she could see were between his legs if she lowered herself to the floor.

A yell. The guard closest to them on the right galloped with his spear pointed. She blinked and the guard appeared on the figure's left, twitching, his eyes glued on her with realization. He struggled to reach a hoof out to her. It trembled and shook before he stopped moving all together. When she looked up, the rest were on the floor, as if they were napping. But their eyes, as she exited the safety of her hiding spot, were open. They were wide and unmoving.

The filly looked up to her savior and finally got a look of what she saw. He was a stallion. She could tell because his muzzle looked like her father's. His wings didn't look like real wings or wings she saw in pictures and books at school. His armor mimicked those she imagined in stories that her father told her when she was to go to sleep. It was glowing too.

He didn't have a helmet on though. His eyes were old, and his muzzle looked dirty. There was a large scar on his face and his mane was all frayed and wet. He took a step forward.

And she took three steps back. He frowned, looked up and gave a whistle. She followed his gaze to see three black figures in the sky. A simple nod of his towards her and the figures flew down. Almost insect like, they gestured her to follow them and they escorted her away. To where, she did not know. She hoped she would find her parents though. And tell them what happened. A flash of blue caused her to look back but the changeling pushed her forward, ushering her to keep moving.

She galloped with them, their screeches were loud, almost bat-like as they called for help.

The filly jumped over the crate and landed wobbly but kept galloping.

They came out of nowhere: from the sky and from the doors and entrances of destroyed buildings and houses. And with them, _her_ kind joined in. Some were holding spears and swords while others were covered in blood. Mares and Stallions, Earth and Unicorn, old and young, all of them galloping with the changelings, looking for an exit. They navigated through the maze of alleyways and streets, their hooves clapping and clopping on the brick and stone.

They turned left, then right, then left again, galloping and growing, the group of ten turned into fifty. The changelings that flew above protected and attacked incoming threats and guards, giving their own lives as they took spears and arrows instead of the civilians. They entered a stadium whose roof had caved in, the changelings destroying their entrance in hopes of slowing down their pursuers.

Left side was blocked, right side was full of rubble and the only exit was above, the roof. With not enough changelings, unicorns grabbed who they could and teleported off.

She heard the sound of guards banging on the doors. A group of jocks held the doors closed. "Go!" They screamed, grunting as they bought them more time. "Hide!" She and the others listened and after a brief search, hid beneath the seats and rebar and waited.

The sounds of the doors being forced open and the screams of the jocks; loud then instantly quiet, filled her heart with fear. The dull thuds and smacks of the bodies flying above hitting the floor caused her to cry. The shuffling of guards searching the area forced her to be silent.

It was quiet, save the shuffling of several groups of guards entering, their spears and swords poised as they searched every corner. With every corner, a scream or cry for help was snuffed by the thrust of their weapons. One by one, they were silenced until it seemed that all but she was left.

The echoes of the spells being fired outside bounced off the walls and died out in the rubble. It was a single gasp that caused the guards to all look in her direction. They saw the filly out in the open. She was unafraid, her eyes red but dry. Her breathing was slow and in front of her stood a pony that was unlike anything they had seen before.

He didn't look _Equestrian_. Wasn't clad in black and blue like her first savior. With the armor a shade of rusty-red and graphite-grey, his wings looked like makeshift knives instead of feathers and the armor looked homemade instead of perfected. Dented everywhere and scratches galore, this armor looked old and timeworn.

His wings were open, the feather-like knifes extended. It stood on its hind legs, his hooves holding bloodied and cracked horns. The faceplate had no expression save the eyes. Those glowing red eyes seemed to stare at the guards.

One guard on the right took a step forward and he froze as the head turned to look at him, the orbs blinking. Another took a step on his left and he turned to face him. It relaxed its stance and glanced around. 20 guards stared at him, their spears aimed at him.

"_Don't worry,"_ Beta spoke calmly as a spear was thrown. _"These bullies will never hurt you again."_


	68. Chapter 66

Chapter 17: _Dragon's Metal_

The hallway up to his room was littered with bodies. Blood stained the marble walls and the taste of tangy iron lingered in his mouth. Close quarter combat was his favorite. Although it wouldn't take much to suit up, Alpha didn't want any surprises.

The sword lunged forward and he ducked underneath the blade, spun, cut through the underbelly with his left wing and slammed the guard's skull down with the dull side of his right wing, cracking the skull and his jaw shattered upon impact with the marble, knocking him out.

Only one floor left and with every corner another guard stood lurking, hiding, waiting for the time to strike. They knew who Alpha was. Some were under his and Sombra's command but when the princess returned, their allegiance quickly shifted in favor for the last ruler.

Up the spiral staircase Alpha climbed slowly, his ears searching and listening for the breath of his future attackers. It was what usually gave them away. A slight _clop_ on the floor as they changed their stance or moved weight from one side to the other. The faint jingle of the magic holding the spear or sword. The soft sound of a guard swallowing the spit that had pooled in his mouth.

The spiral staircase was clear and Alpha slowly made his way to the first room of four in the tower. A book room whose curtains were lying sideways on the floor. The sounds of war outside were feeble but present and Alpha, after a quick look-around, glanced outside the window.

It wasn't pretty. It was midday now and the fires burned bright enough to be seen in the smoke as it spread through the cottages once more. Changelings, the small black dots in the air, had opened fire at the Pegasus and unicorns who attempted to fight back for the Princess of the Sun. Groups of survivors attempting to leave the city and the fighting were protected by swarms of changelings who used themselves as shields and attacked any who wished them harm.

He screamed in pain and instinctively ducked, dodging the giant battle-axe that was aimed at his back. Surrounded by four guards. On his left stood a heavily armored stallion who hefted a handled-battle-axe, standing on his hind legs. A mare, a unicorn whose eyes were jet-black accompanied the Juggernaut's left side. On its right stood a scrawny earth pony who held a dagger in his muzzle. The fourth was cloaked, and Alpha tracked the moving shimmer behind the juggernaut.

His attention was diverted to his left wing, his eyes focusing on the dagger's handle that stood in the center. It was painful, agonizingly painful. His mind became blurry and unfocused.

The Juggernaut took a step forward and swung his axe right with incredibly agility. The mutant pushed off his hind legs and ducked under the assault, slamming his left wing into his stomach, ripping the wing from the armor and his leftover tendons and peeled right then spun left, his right wing catching the scout by the neck.

The assassin watched as he gripped his dagger tighter with his scaly fingers. He took a step forward towards the target but quickly took back his step to instead watch for an opening to exploit. His target showed no signs of slowing down and watched as the mutant unforgiving unloaded spell upon spell like a chain-gun spitting out bullets, decimating the unicorn and the wall behind him.

He heard the footsteps first: heavy and thundering. Alpha spun, his wing raised and he caught the attacker along the stomach, slicing through. The shimmer backed up a few steps and then appeared.

Alpha had heard the stories, seen the memories that Beta had of such creatures, but never saw one this close. Dragons were, although very powerful, never seen in battles. They don't join sides and prefer to stay neutral, but if provoked, will unleash their iconic jet of fire capable of melting solid rock. It were these creatures that set fire to the earth to allow it to be terraformed for new life when the earth was formed ago.

It was staring at its stomach, and Alpha's eyes followed his gaze. There was no deep cut from his attack. It didn't even scratch him. His heart skipped a beat.

_Shit._

The Dragon raised its muzzle to Alpha and grinned. It moved, attacking with speed and precision. Each jab, swipe, punch, and slash met its mark, and soon enough began to cut through the armor and into Alpha's hide. He was just too fast for Alpha. With every counter, the Dragon dodged and landed two more.

Soon, the pegasus was tired and bleeding heavily. His blood pooled underneath him and he was weak. The Assassin smiled and backed up. He knew he had won and now it was time to finish the job. He took a deep breath in, holding it as the temperature within grew.

Alpha was wobbly and tired. He'd do anything to take a nap and it scared him. Knowing he was screwed, he leaned down and picked up his left wing, removing the dagger and groaned as it connected back with the bone and tendons. He glanced at the dagger, examining and wanting to know the weapon that took him down.

It was beautifully decorated with gold and gemstones. The pommel had the head of a Dragon carved into it, its eyes rubies. He looked up at the Dragon, knowing his time had come. He examined his attacker and his eyes went wide. He quickly glanced at the dagger's pommel, then to his armor, then to the Dragon. Alpha stood up onto his hind legs, dropping the dagger and turning himself so the Dragon would obliterate only his right side, and grinned inside his helmet. He had only one shot.

The Dragon unleashed his jet of flame. The bookcases in the room burned; their books aflame. The paint on the walls began to bubble, and even the scales on the Dragon began to char and burn from the intense heat, the pink raw skin underneath blistering.

Alpha raised his right wing and braced. He screamed as the pain raced through his veins. His mane caught fire, the deep cuts cauterized and he watched as his right wing glow red. As red as it did once before in the factory the day he took it out of the forge as a sheet of metal.

Of _Dragon's Metal._

Minutes passed by before the jet of flame ceased. The smoke poured out the window and out into the hallway where the Dragon stood.

Alpha heard the Dragon turn to leave and lunged out, his wing raised and he slammed his wing down the back of the Dragon, sliding and revealing the pink skin underneath. The Dragon had begun to turn when Alpha's second strike, a thrust of his glowing hot wing that pushed and stayed on the exposed flesh, caused him to cry out. Knowing this was his only shot, Alpha backed up and reverted to how Beta taught him to use pain as an energy for his magic. He focused on the pain and channeled it into his chest.

The Dragon, stunned by the pain, turned around and raised his dagger to throw when the mutant let out a cry of anger and unleashed something bright and blu-.

The smoke now poured out of the window and the gaping hole in the tower. Nothing was left of the attacker, not even the floor was blackened where his feet once stood. Alpha steadied himself, tired and very weak.

Something coughed.

Alpha spun around to see the Juggernaut dropping his axe. His upper-armor was lying on the floor behind him and his front left leg was wrapped around his stomach, the right was outstretched towards Alpha and he was shaking his head.

The Juggernaut watched as the Mutant destroyed his axe with a single bolt of bright blue light and galloped off, heading up the stairs to his quarters.

The filly followed close behind the rust-colored _Pony of Rage_. Survivors of the battle who noticed the two joined in and soon they had a group twice as big as the original. Changelings above responded to his orders and they attacked any guard on sight, regardless if they had surrendered or not.

Nearing the exit of the city, Beta ordered the group to stay behind, hiding within the Canterlot's high school, as he scouted ahead, the changelings hovering above. It took fifteen minutes to get to the exit and when he did, he was surprised. _For a first._

The Guards stood side by side in waves and the screams of the civilians who pleaded and begged them to let them leave told Beta that this would be an interesting battle. Cannons in center and on the sides were aimed down the street and the Dragons stood as the last line of defense. Once understanding what he would have to get through, Beta quickly left the exit and ran back.

"So!? What did you see?" A stallion who held a staff asked once the suit of armor entered the gym doors.

Beta looked at the stallion, then to the rest of the group and frowned. This wouldn't be pretty, then again, 'pretty' isn't exactly what one would describe war as. Only fifteen minutes had passed by and the group of survivors were already making makeshift barriers and choke-points. Gamers of the new electronic age had grouped together and created what they thought would be the best defensive map. Every entrance was a collapsible bottle neck.

But then they did have little-to-none experience in death and war against them. Most of them, the new ones that either moved after the battle or were there that weekend for school-break, were shell-shocked. Moving like mindless husks of flesh, they followed the basic of orders before standing there, staring off into space, unaware of practically everything. They will be the first to die.

_"It's not good."_ Beta spoke as he shook his helmet._ "Celestia seems to have gotten the favor of Dragons and now they guard the exit with the rest of the royals."_

"Dragons!?" The filly that he protected earlier ran up when she caught sight of him asked with fear.

_"Yeah. Dragons."_

"What will we do?"

_"Hide. All of you hide. I'll take care of the army. You can't fight these types of soldiers head on."_

"You can't be serious! There must be another way!"

He was right and Beta knew it. Hiding only to prolong Death from finding you wasn't a tactic. But there was no other way he knew to protect them. If he went head on, like he planned, they would call for reinforcements. And they would set up camp here.

Beta sighed. _"Then kill in the shadows. If you have a weapons, pair up in groups of four. Hide in the shadows, and wait for reinforcements. Wait for the guards to have their flanks turned towards you before attacking. If you aim for the neck, slit the throat horizontally and cover their muzzle. Attack their legs to drop them. Jumping up and bringing your weight onto their skull with a dagger is sufficient to penetrate and kill." _He spoke quickly and the survivors listened. They didn't care what or who this pony was, all they knew was that he was their way out. _"Loot the dead, grab whatever armor and weapons they have and then return to the shadows."_

"And if we can't fight?" The filly asked.

_"You do or you die. No other way of putting it. If you have to die, don't look in the direction of your friends. You'll give them away. Key to survival is being quiet and working together. Fighting for life is chaotic but there is always a rhythm to it. They'll begin fighting harder when they are scared. And when they are scared, they make mistakes."_

Much shuffling filled the air as ponies when looking for spaces and hiding spots. Thunder hit the high-school and the lights went dark. Muffled screams and gasps took the place of the shuffling. Their eyes dashed forward the glowing-red figure and everypony went silent.

_"Good Luck." _The figure spoke in a deep-raspy voice. It then spun around and ran into the bright outside.

Beta ignored the high-pitched screeches of the changelings asking him for orders. And Beta, annoyed and fed up with their constant yelping, turned around and looked up, staring at them.

_"This is my fight."_ he waited. _"No you may not come."_ he was patient._ "No, I need you with the others!"_

They screeched again.

_"Yes, it's gonna be bloody."_

And again.

_"Yes, it will a turkey-shoot!"_

And again.

_"That is why I am asking you to stay with them!"_

They screeched once more and Beta snapped. _"Most of them will die without your help. Either go and help them or fuck off and lose your damn chance of survival. If Celestia gets back into power, which I cannot personally allow, everypony is fucked. But if you fuck off, you can be damn sure we aren't going to help you."_

Most changelings understood and flew off, allowing Beta to ignore the stragglers and continue on towards the exit. Now alone, Beta could ready himself for the task at hoof. And what better way to fight than to improvise?

He turned the corner, powering down the color of his magic and walked down the center of the road towards the exit. A guard ran forward, his pike lowered in a non-threatening way.

"Come on! Quickly!" He cried, gesturing the figure forward. It complied and began to gallop. His squad had their pikes up-right, keeping their ground. "We don't have much time!" As the figure got closer, the guards behind their friend kept their eyes on him.

It was odd to see somepony encased with armor. The eye sockets were pitch black and the helmet turned to look up at the guard. Scratches on the armor told him this pony knew war.

"Why are you wearing so much armor?"

_"Scared."_

The voice sounded un-equestrian and it made the guard uncomfortable. "W-Well, you can take it off now. You are safe."

The helmet shook. _"Not going to happen."_

"Why not?"

_"Rumors. Ponies saying that you will kill us. I'm too scared."_

Beta felt a hoof on his flank and turned his head only to have two hooves grab his chin and twist it 180 degrees.

"Death is a part of life. Now you will join your friends and be at peace." The guard had his muzzle touching his ear-guard, breathing into it.

The armor shook in his hooves and the guard smiled. "Don't fight it. Your time has come. Just let go."

The suit of armor powered up and Beta giggled. Blasting the pony behind him into bits, the dark legend pulled back and stood up on his hind hooves, twisting the helmet back in place. _"I've already died. Long ago actually. It's much harder to let go. No, I'm not here to die..."_

Within three strides, the _Pony of Rage_ reached the first line of guards. Ducked under the first sword and jumped over the first wave, crashing into the second. He curled into ball, rolling into and crushing a guard's legs before popping out, completing a graceful flip and liquidizing the second wave into blood and hair with his magic.

Beta was a walking tank with a very violent temper. And without Alpha or the fear of dying holding him back?

He grinned as he punched the cannon ball downward and kicked it with his hind left hoof with equal force, taking out the cannon that fired it. A guard swung a long-sword and Beta cleanly dodged the first swipe, then the left-slash and then the fast-thrust. He side stepped and spun, introducing an elbow to the chin then the other to the top of the skull.

Beta giggled in disgust and glee as he countered and utterly destroyed the army. These were like colts pretending to be warriors. And he was the Dragon. With that thought in mind, his attention quickly turned to the last wave and he froze.

The fourth wave of guards surrounded him and raised their spears, poised to kill. His eyes and attention were fixated, however, on the three fully-fledged Dragons. Each a staggering thirty feet tall. On the right, perched upon the wall was a Dragon with beautiful Ice-blue scales. On the left, the Dragon camouflaged itself with the snow-peaked mountains in the background with it's blue and black and white scales that mimicked a snowy mountain side. And down the street, past the exit, stood the creature whose scales were a myriad of Dark-Green to Olive-Green. They did not grin, they did not frown, but their eyes tracked Beta like an Owl tracks their prey.


	69. Chapter 67

Chapter 18: Dead Preschoolers and Asphalt-Grey

It hit him like a freight train; the realization that the Dragons weren't allying with Celestia was nothing short of a revelation. They weren't here to help Celestia: They were here to take her power away for good. _And how else but to kill every living creature she had control over?_

Time slowed as his stress blasted through the roof and into the atmosphere as he watched their mouths begin to open.

_Buck at any guard behind me. Grab any spear and rip it from the owner's grip. Destroy grouped figures on left and right. Imbue Spear with—_

Beta looked up to see the jet of fire race toward him. _Not enough time._ He bailed, dropping the spear and galloping as fast as the suit would let him to dodge the incoming assault.

The combined jets of flame melted the concrete where he was standing and it tracked him as he weaved through the debris like a mouse scampering away from the danger of the pursuing cat. He couldn't let himself make a mistake: one short burst of that flame would melt his suit into a puddle of metal.

Not that it mattered: he was dead anyway but he knew bonding back to Alpha would take too much time and he wouldn't be at full strength if he did. Bonding took time: he had to be prepared, he had to be ready, and whoever he was targeting to bond with usually had to go through something similar to what he had been through when he was alive. And that was hard to come by these days.

He dashed through fallen buildings and over cold corpses. The sight of death doing his work no longer had an effect on him.

Or so he thought.

He was five blocks away when the jet of fire stopped following him. Beta took a right and entered what used to be the gym of a pre-school and found himself looking at piles of corpses.

Only 10 of the three-hundred corpses had cutie-marks, and they were laying at the base of the piles. The rest were small and young. Their skin was still warm, and it wasn't just a simple slit to the throat. Legs and hooves bent at wrong angles, scratches and deep cuts across their back and their underbelly, and wings with horns were piled near the exit.

Beta didn't move. He didn't shift his weight to one side or the other. All he did was stayed still, taking it all in.

* * *

Alpha growled as he raised his front right hoof up and blocked the incoming sword, opening and exposing the chest and striking his left hoof twice at the exposed torso, breaking ribs and puncturing lungs. The guard opened his muzzle to gasp for air only to have his head brought down by two hooves and his chin shattered upon impact on the metal thigh.

His kills were precise and quick and smooth, each counter leading to another kill only to lead into another counter. He ripped off horns and used them as make-shift daggers when he could. Alpha took out the next grunt with mastery; disarming the handled dagger from the poorly executed jab and forcing him into an arm-bar, bending him over before finally tearing the shoulder off its joint and letting go, allowing the guard to bend backwards in agony, only to have his dagger shoved through his forehead and into the ground.

Alpha felt his skin heat up and turned to see another dragon finishing his breath and, without missing a beat, unleashed a beam of magic, decimating the dragon and the four blocks behind it. After a quick search, he left, calmly walking down the street.

All he could smell was the revolting smell of his mane, all burnt up and charred but he didn't dare remove his helmet. Not at a time like this. The buildings were burning and this time, they will stay down once they fell. He had no desire to return to this place, no matter how popular it was.

He realized, after a while of searching, that he was alone. He stopped in the center of an intersection and examined the wreckage that surrounded him. Corpses were neatly piled on the sidewalks, now painted with the red liquid. Horns and wings that were removed were stacked neatly in their own pile on the streets.

Smart and Tidy. It was more organized this time than the first, then again the first was a last resort. The buildings were slanted and leaned on each other. Cottages had mostly been destroyed and stores were ransacked and dark.

The Sun had begun to set and the sky was colored a purple twilight. Clouds were all but gone and the smoke replaced their places instead. Slowly, the temperature dropped and Alpha had made his way up onto a building, standing on the edge just in case it would collapse, just to watch the sun set.

"How?" he spoke to himself. "How can the skies above be so peaceful when there is nothing but war and death and revenge down here?" Alpha then fell silent as he watched the sun turn into just a sliver, then vanish from the horizon.

He stood there as the sky turned purple, then midnight-blue, alone. And then glow of orange attracted his attention and he turned to see three dragons flying over the exit of Canterlot. Their jets of flame melted and burned the land of Canterlot as they attempted to destroy all remains of his kind.

The sound of metallic hooves skidding on the roof following a loud crash of metal made Alpha smile and he turned to watch the heap of armor struggle.

Charlie struggled to get up, the metal skidding and slipping on the smooth concrete. "I told you it's hard to land in armor."

"Then don't land with such speed." Alpha replied without a pause, enjoying watching his ex-colt-friend have a hard time. "Are they ready?" Charlie didn't reply but instead groan and grunt and sigh. Alpha giggled. "Let me rephrase that: Are _you_ ready?"

He finally stood up, albeit wobbly. "Now I am, no thanks to you." He said, annoyed. "And they are ready. On their way right now."

Alpha tilted his head. "The other cities aren't being attacked?"

"_Not that we know of. Have you been fighting Celestia?"_

"No. I've been fighting Dragons."

"_The Dragons don't fight, Alpha. They never have, not in my time nor in the others'."_

Alpha gestured them forward and pointed at the dragons reducing Canterlot into molten slag. "You sure about that!?"

"_They shouldn't be doing that. They don't fight. They have never engaged in our battles!"_

"What do you mean?"

"_Dragons are calm but powerful creatures. All they ever wanted was knowledge, unlike our kind. All we wanted was peace and power. Hell, Sombra used to visit their nest just to ask questions that the young answered perfectly." _Delta explained as he walked to the edge, looking over the chaos.

"What type of questions?

"_Diplomatic. Marketing. Strategies of War, History, Health, Biology, Science, Religion; they had the answers for them and more." _

"Do you know any way of defeating dragons, other than a huge blast of magic?"

Delta shook his head. _"Not that I am aware-." _He paused as the two watched the three dragons change tactics. The Olive-Green Dragon landed on the ground and began walking through the ruins, slowly reducing it to molten slag. Its friend, the Frost Dragon, flew up to the sky and hovered a few hundred meters from the ground. The last faded into the dark, flying south, away from the pack.

"They are splitting off." He said quietly

"_The one that is flying away is probably leaving to bring reinforcements. Which means that one," _The two glanced up. _"Is keeping watch."_

"For us." Alpha muttered. He shook his head. "This is getting out of hoof. We need to end this."

"_How!?"_

Alpha's wings fluttered with anxiousness. "Bring your army and take care of the one getting help. I got the one in the sky."

"_And the dragon destroying the city!?"_

Alpha ignored the question and leapt off the edge, allowing himself to free-fall. He loved his armor more than anything. Tailored and honed specifically for him by him, it owned an asphalt-black shade to it. His wings were much more flexible and the feathers had his _original _detailed textures and patterns etched into the metal, courtesy of the Factory's records.

His wings opened and the feathers gripped the wind. The streamlined helmet, chest-plate and lower torso were imbued with his emotion and magic from their extensive use. It adapted to him, allowing him to move freely with ease and control. He leaned back and pulled up from the ground, curving up slowly as he flapped his wings faster and faster. He broke the sound-barrier and the halo of galaxy blue erupted. But, just as he planned, the halo was horizontal as he pulled up and the buildings took the brunt of it.

Cloaked by the blackness of his armor and the protection of the night-sky, Alpha raced towards the dragon.


	70. Chapter 68

Chapter 19: "We can end this now."

"So, how are we going to take out a dragon," Charlie asked, his voice quivering. "If it's impossible?"

Delta withdrew, returning the reigns of his body to Charlie. It always felt cold to Charlie when Delta withdrew, as if someone had poured ice-cold water into his lungs only to have it return reheat a few seconds later. It was a feeling that could cripple Charlie, forcing him to curl up into a ball and wait it out, his mind and his daydreams poisoned by the sensation, creating dark lands and lonely worlds.

Charlie's relationship with Delta was much more personal when compared to Beta's revenge and anger mission with Alpha. Instead of wanting to get revenge, Delta wanted to help. Instead of talking to Charlie, he would show him images and pictures, allow him to hear specific sounds and bits of pieces of conversations around him, hoping he would begin to piece together what the answer was.

"Delta?" he asked aloud, aware of the sound of a city aflame getting louder. "What will we do?"

Something flashed behind him and he turned to see the light on the roof's exit begin to glow.

* * *

Out of all the corpses and bodies that piled on top of one another, this was the one that struck him deep. It wasn't the cuts across her hooves or the bruises on her back and flank. It wasn't the stab mark which penetrated her spine and her heart. It was the void of redness around her eyes.

It wasn't a foal, but a teacher. It didn't matter who died and who didn't, but the fact that she was on the top of the pile revealed that she wasn't the first to die. The others were crying but this – this one wasn't. One cannot come to accept their fate this quickly in this type of environment. The other adult corpses proved this theory.

Beta didn't need to know who she was or what her life was like to know when somepony was willing to die. Body language always tells another story, a truer story than what words can ever claim. It hit him hard, opening a memory, a slice of life that revealed the worst.

Within the suit, he frowned, remembering the worst of his days. The nights where he would cry in his room, alone and alienated. The type of cries that his saliva would get stringy and if he didn't time it right, choke repeatedly on his tears. He saw himself curled up between his bed and his bed-table. His room was a mess and his belongings shattered and broken.

The _Pony of Rage_ exited the preschool in silence. Dust and smoke calmly rose from the roof as the bodies and corpses inside burned. The roar of the Dragon claiming his land was loud and thundering, booming throughout the city, windows rattled and blood and water rippled. A few blocks away, the ear-torturing groan of steel slowly bending cried out, catching the attention of Beta.

He glanced once in the direction of where he thought the dragon was before heading out, making his way to the buildings, cloaking himself before crossing open roads. He maneuvered past toppled carriages and burning motels whose fire served as a source of light for two blocks. 22

The buildings, which turned out to be four separate skyscrapers, in question were horribly damaged. Their windows were shattered twenty meters above the ground and the glass turned the once smooth sidewalk into a cheese-grater. Painted black from the night sky, with lights flickering here and there in the levels above, these structures were more decorated skeletons than actual feats of engineering.

They were sisters, each with their black marble bases, now clothed with dust and ash. One slouched on their twin across the street, littering the street underneath in tables, computers, and papers. The other two stood tall. Another roar persuaded the pony to hide underneath the slouched building, navigating past toppled chairs, snaking through steel and marble, climbing the remains of the offices until he stood in the elevator shaft. It was a moderate climb upwards but it was dark, pitch black as the fall, he assumed, would've cut the power.

Beta leaned to the side, resting his hoof on the rebar. At once, he felt himself begin to twitch. His hoof wasn't responding and he struggled to remove the hoof from the rebar, oblivious that the lights around him had reactivated. He grunted and groaned but his hoof was stuck to the rebar as if it was magnetized. He raised his right back-hoof and placed it onto the concrete behind the rebar and pushed, pulling his hoof away from the rebar.

It felt like he was pulling his hoof through tar but once it lost contact however, the lights went dark and the _Pony-of-Rage_ fell to the floor, inert.

"_Shit."_

* * *

He grinded his teeth as he fought back the urge to scream in agony. With no clouds to hide in, Alpha attacked the Dragon from below, and in return, the dragon attempted to blast the small figure with its fire. The heat grew hotter and hotter as he got closer and closer to the source, but just as he reached the jaws, he peeled back slightly, dodging the jaws and landing on its snout.

"Hi there." He said happily, his armor still glowing from the heat. When the dragon didn't respond, Alpha stomped twice. "I said Hi." He repeated, this time much, much louder.

It blinked twice. If it was confused, it did not show much of it. _"Hello, are you here to talk about negotiations?" _It spoke in a calm voice which did not waiver, nor did it stutter or show any signs of lack of confidence.

Alpha looked down, lifted his right hoof up and smiled as he felt resistance from the blood-clots holding the metal where they were. "Why are you doing all this?"

"_All of what?" _

It acted as if this was not a problem: wiping out an entire species. "Destruction."

"_Because your kind cannot be in power for much longer." _

"My kind or my type?"

"_Mutant or not, you shall no longer hold that power."_

Alpha exhaled loudly. "That's a shame." And unleashed his magic upon the skull of the dragon. He locked his armor and, being bounded to the Dragon's snout, continued to release a constant blast of magic aimed at the skull while it attempted to fling him off.

The Dragon opened its mouth as its hands reached for Alpha, so Alpha jumped off of the snout, dodging the bony fingers, completing a loop as he entered its jaws. Surrounding himself with a shield of magic, Alpha traveled down the throat and, after a split-second decision, opened both wings, slicing down the esophagus. He splashed into a pool of foul-smelling liquid and as he swam to the top, making sure he didn't swallow any of it, he turned his suit's colors on full brightness. What he realized what he was swimming in, he panicked.

* * *

"Delta?" Charlie asked hesitantly. "Delta!" This was getting ridiculous, the city was ablaze and yet Delta had disappeared. Alone, against an enemy who's considered impossible to beat, without the company of anypony, Charlie was _not_ ready. _If only Alpha would've stopped with Celestia, if only Alpha would just roll over and die after losing his remaining wing… _The thoughts streamed into his mind, no longer blocked by Delta's presence. _If only Alpha would have left me in the factory, none of this would be happening. _He glared up at the Dragon above, infuriated. His chest felt hot as Delta returned and Charlie immediately looked away.

"_I'm here." _

"So, what are we gonna do?"

"_I'm just going to cut straight to the point: we can't destroy it. Not from the outside and this armor isn't suitable for the stomach-acids within. So, we take it out with something else."_

Charlie paused, hesitant to lose the only chance he had to set things right again. His hear raced as he glanced up at the dragon above, now writhing about it pain.

"_He'll be fine, and he's counting on us." _Delta reassured him. _"Let's go."_

"What if…we don't help?" Charlie asked slowly.

"_What!?"_ Delta snapped back. _"Are you suggesting we abandon Canterlot, abandon our own kind?"_

"You said that we aren't them; that we are different, unnatural."

"_You'll have the ghosts of both Alpha and Beta after you."_

"But if we die, we move on." Charlie replied. "If we die, we won't need to stay here, on their realm. We can move on. We can forget everything here. Imagine that, Delta. A new life, completely different and new compared to this one."

He didn't hear his counter-part respond but he didn't feel him withdraw. He was still here, and hopefully, he was thinking which to commit. He knew Delta _wanted_ to leave, his dreams and memories that he shared proved this fact, but he was never really able to make that first step.

After what seemed like hours, Delta spoke, but his voice was filled with sorrow and sadness. _"..I-I-If…we remove our armor…"_ He stuttered, as if he was choking back tears. _"…T-the fall will kill us…" _


	71. Chapter 69

Chapter 20: Breaking Up

The Moon was high in the sky now, and the smoke and fires added their light to the planetoid above. Down below, chaos spread through Canterlot like a wildfire. Two Dragons, one hovering above and one down below, both in unison and cooperation began to decimate the city.

Charlie stood on the edge of a black skyscraper, looking down at the pavement below. A close inspection revealed that he would not be the only one to hug the ground at terminal velocity. He would soon join

For others, this move would seem like the end of all things, but for Charlie, this was the beginning of what he wanted. No more pain, no more killing, no more suffering.

"And of the rest of the army?" He asked.

"_This move…will bury Alpha." _Delta replied._ "It will bury him in immense pain, both of betrayal, of anger, of sorrow and regret." _

Charlie smiled. Not because of the thought of hurting Alpha, but because of the thought that all this agony, this world of violence and destruction will be behind him for once when he hits the pavement below. It'll be instant, and it'll be glorious. The stallion looked up to watch the wave of armored suits fly in the direction of the fleeing dragon and shook his head in disagreement. He began to step forward.

"_But if that is what you wish…" _Delta began to speak as Charlie felt his chest turn numb, causing him to gasp for air. _"Then the world of ghosts can choose who bonds with you as you hit that pavement to be thrown in the next gateway of life." _He felt a cold wind blow over his shoulders and as he turned to look back, he felt all emotion drain away_._ _"But…as much as I'd love to explore that place, I do not want to join you."_

He was standing behind him, basked in full-glory, an image of his former self before his battle. His mane, like his tail, was jet-black with its tips glowing green. His eyes pierced into Charlie's like no pony has before and his hide was a dirty-white. _"You can end your life, if you wish. Destroy what you look like as you hit the concrete below, but you will be on your own if you do so." _Delta replied, as the suit of armor began to encase the ghost, and it let out a seemingly happy coo as it formed a whole stallion. _"I, honestly, wouldn't like that to happen, but through all of what I -" _He placed a hoof onto his metallic chest. _ "Have done, it seems it has not been enough." _

"B-b-but you want to die too!" Charlie stuttered. "Y-You told me yourself that you would go on if-if you had the chance!"

"_I did, but I do not wish to die again. It's an…unpleasant experience, being ripped from your body, from the husk you always knew and only had." _

"So, you are going to leave me, a depressed stallion, on the top of a building, alone, in a city that is being destroyed by dragons!?" Charlie screamed, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Delta shrugged and nodded. _"Yes. Yes I will." _

"And you aren't afraid of me committing suicide!?"

"_No. And you know why." _And with that, Delta disappeared in a blinding flash of green light, leaving the stallion standing by the edge, alone.


	72. Chapter 70

Chapter 21: 'Lives' as a Unit of Measure of Time

The stallion screamed and splashed around, struggling to stay afloat in the stomach acid. It began corroding his armor and he was sloshed about as the dragon writhed in pain from the cuts he had made as he willingly traveled down the throat. Blood trickled from the esophagus and into the cavity of the stomach, turning the liquid red. He swore in despair as he paddled to the side, his wings sliding off of the slimy lining.

Alpha began to sink, his legs and wings getting tired of paddling to the surface. He landed softly at the bottom of the cavity. He could feel his armor get thinner as the pressure around his ears grew. A warm sensation engulfed his flank and he cried out in despair as only one thought came to mind.

_I lost._

* * *

"_I thought you two were at the city." _Sombra spoke, surprised when Delta appeared beside him in a flash of green. He was encased in his own Royal armor. Instead of the cloak he wore during his failed attempt at defending his kingdom from the Queen Candace and King Shining Armor, his back was completely bare. As Delta glanced around, he realized that they all were. Their figures matched their own in their prime years, but they were all void of clothing or anything that would separate the Kings from the Queens. The metal was Chrome and, in a way, they all looked like statues that moved if one would to watch watched them closely.

"_Only one of us is here actually…"_ Delta replied with a hint of regret, looking around at the mountains and the valley below. It was a narrow valley, with both sides jagged. The snow covered the sharp and rigid rocks and provided excellent cover for those that stood on it, waiting for the dragon to come.

"_Oh." _

Delta turned and looked back in the direction of Canterlot. It felt horrible leaving Charlie alone after his abrupt break up.

"_He'll be fine." _Sombra casually spoke, noticing the stallion's unease.

"_How do you know?" _

"_Because if he dies he'll return as a ghost." _

"_That isn't what I meant."_

"_We all heal eventually, Delta; their life, ours, or the one ahead. In time, we figure out our mistakes and flaws, figure out what we did wrong and what that went wrong and why what went wrong was and was not our fault." _

"_It isn't easy though."_ Delta replied as he looked at Sombra. His red eye-sockets were looking at his own green sockets.

"_Note that I was using the term 'lives' as a unit to measure the amount of time." _Sombra shot back.

Silence fell shortly after. Delta waited, listening for the soft muffled flaps of the wings, ignoring the occasional crunch of snow being stepped on. The wind blew softly, whistling across the edges of the metal. The night sky and the light of the fragmenting moon lit up the snow brightly. The stallion swayed slightly, following the shadow of the valley until he could see a small shadow swaying with him.

"_Do you have a plan?" _Delta finally asked.

"_I did…" _Sombra's voice hesitated as if he was deep in thought._ "Did you do what I asked?"_

Delta continued to sway left and right slowly. _"What? Learn how to fly?" _

"_Yes."_

Delta raised his helmet and glanced up towards Sombra who wasn't looking at him but something in the distance to the right. _"No, why?"_

"_Because the plan has changed." _

Delta stood up and walked behind Sombra to get a look. In the distance, his eyes locked on to the towering figure who breathed fire on those who were galloping to Canterlot. It took a couple of seconds before the thundering roar of a Dragon at war echoed through the valley. _"It wasn't flying for aid…" _

"_The other cities didn't report any attacks, but heeded the call for aid." _Sombra explained. _"Which means that,"_ He stood up as well and pointed a hoof towards the figure. _"The dragon, didn't flee for aid but instead flew off to decimate any reinforcements."_

"_But why!?"_ Delta began to speak. _"There isn't any need to destroy the reinforcements if there isn't..." _His voice trailed off as he glanced up at Sombra.

Sombra was staring down at Delta and nodded slowly once Delta stopped talking. _"Assuming Beta is here, and Alpha can, in fact, take down a Tier Three Dragon, they will not be enough to take down another one, even if they found some way to bond together." _

"_Beta isn't afraid of dying. If he dies, he'll just possess another suit of armor."_

"_That isn't the point."_ Sombra growled. _"The point is that Beta isn't as strong as he was when he was in his prime."_

Delta shook his head. _"When the hell was Beta in his prime?"_

"_When he was with Alpha. During the time he was with Alpha, Beta was able to use whatever resources he had available to greater extent, unlike when he was young where he wasted what he had."_

"_Let's change this topic to a more important one: HOW ARE WE GOING TO DEFEAT THAT!?"_ He asked, pointing at the Dragon that was obliterating the reinforcements with ease.

King Sombra watched the Chaos unfold, frozen. Delta anxiously glanced around, watching all of his allies stay frozen and still, not from the cold temperatures but from the shock and awe, watching a Dragon lay waste to armies of thousands like a child playing with plastic green soldiers that rolled across them on the carpet floor.

"_SOMBRA!" _Delta cried out but the King did not respond and instead continued to watch the chaos unfold. It was destructive but destruction always had its beauty for those who used it for their own purposes.

He was stuck. He wanted an order given so he could follow it out but his leader, his friend, wasn't responding. Engulfed in the moment and the heart-pounding anxiousness, Delta made up his mind and was the first to break this spell of shock and gallop towards the Dragon.

Sombra was the second to break the spell and he raised his hoof, holding it. His movement caused a chain reaction and suddenly the rest of the army was watching Delta make his way down.

The snow crunched underneath the weight of his armor and he began to slide as he galloped down the side of the valley. His mind raced as he focused on the goal, fueled by his anxiousness, adrenaline, and an odd, eerie sensation of long lost will. He slid past trees and over rocks, dodging obstacles by shifting his weight. Delta felt thunder in his chest and he grinned as he was chased by the avalanche. He watched the edge of the drop off come closer and jumped at the last possible second, twisting his chest to spin in the air, proud of the avalanche and destruction he had caused. The stallion expertly teleported just as he reached terminal velocity.

The Green flash lit up Sombra's eyes and he dropped his hoof. Loud cracks and pops reverberated through the valley that sounded like cracks of lightning as the Army of the dead teleported to the enemy.


	73. Chapter 71

Chapter 22: No more hope

Delta appeared several kilometers away, and hit the dirt at 0 KPH and reached 45KPH within 5 meters, his suit at top speed, kicking up dust behind him. It was a spectacle for most of the armies to witness a dragon that was attacking their kind which meant that Delta was a surprise for most, who jumped into the midst of the battle. But instead of attacking the army, Delta dodged and ducked under incoming attacks and made his way to the dragon.

The Dragon was standing on the ground, no longer hovering in the air. Its head swayed side to side, fire flying from its muzzle. Most got caught in the fire but a few were wise enough to combine shields and hide behind it, forming miniature turtle shells. The quick blow over wasn't hot enough to melt the iron but a focused blast would vaporize the metal.

The unicorns used their magic like arrows but harmlessly exploded upon contact with the scales of the dragon in flowers of neon green, blue and red. Delta watched carefully as he ducked under swords and jumped over shields and other ponies. Several patches of scales were blackened which where were the spells were directed at.

His army appeared in the midst of the battle, ignoring the mortals and focusing on their target. Unlike the unicorns, whose magic was mainly comprised of bolts, these dead royals unleashed beams of continuous magic that splashed against the underbelly of the Dragon.

"_Delta, you aren't going to find anything to help us." _Sombra's disembodied voice spoke to Delta within his mind. _"Their hide is too thick."_

Delta galloped between the legs of the Dragon, looking for any exploits despite what Sombra had told him. The mist of continuous magic that bombarded the thick scales sprayed him as it evaporated. Sombra was right, there wasn't any fault in the armor that he could use to his advantage, which meant only one thing.

He had to create one.

The Dragon spun, using its tail as a whip that erased any in its path. Using his wings, Delta wrapped the limb around one of the massive barbs that covered the tail. It yanked him violently, nearly ripping off the wing itself. Pulling himself up onto the tail and anchoring to it, he looked up at the back of the towering creature. The scaly wings caught his eye and he mentally made them his target.

"_Sombra,"_ He began, slowly crawling up the tail. _"How thick are a Dragon's wings?"_

"_I'm trying to tell you that Dragons are immune to our attacks, Delta. Unless you have a Dragon on our side, we aren't penetrating through that armor!"_

Delta cursed loudly. The only dragon he knew off wasn't even a teen and couldn't breathe a constant jet of fire to save his life. He dug his wings under the scales and pulled himself up scale by scale. Although the wing did wrap underneath the base of the scale, the skin itself was stronger than the armor he currently wore. Only when he reached the base of the tail did Delta permit himself a quick glance around at the battle.

Nothing remained but the dead inhabiting suits of metal and in the distance retreated the remaining stallions of the armies. The Kings and Queens aided one another, grabbing hold and teleporting their friends as the tail whipped around.

"_NOVA!" _Delta cried out. _"Has anypony seen Nova?"_

"_He's with me." _Sombra replied. _"Get off the tail, Delta. You aren't going to find an advantage up there."_

"_Nova, respond." _Delta ignored Sombra.

"_That isn't a very nice way to talk to somepony, Delta." _Nova replied.

"_Now's not the time. Do you remember the time when Beta created an arachnid with fire?"_

"_Vaguely. Alpha was hurt and Beta attempted to defend him. Why?" _

"_Is it possible for one of us to create a similar trick in the form of a Dragon?"_

"_You can't be serious!"_ Sombra butted in. _"Remember that magic, _our_ magic, uses emotion as a source. You don't have the correct emotion to focus on to do that type of magic." _

"_King Sombra is right, Delta. To bring out a creature who is solely comprised of magic is an ability so little few own." _Nova agreed.

Delta removed his wing from the scale below him and reached up to wrap it around the one on his right. The creature he was climbing spun to whip its tail and caught Delta off guard, flinging him off. Without the ability to fly, he landed in a gruesome tumble. _"Shit. What about your daughter?" _He asked as soon as he stood up from his crash.

"_Luna? Although she is dead, she has died too recently. I doubt her soul has even realized where she now is." _

Delta picked up a shield from the ground and joined in with the others, unleashing his own continuous ribbon of magic. _"How do you feel about that, the fact that your daughter is dead?"_

"_Delta, I appreciate that you are trying every option that you can think of, but you have to face reality, my friend."_ He replied. _"We have been finally outmatched."_


	74. Chapter 72

Chapter 23: A body is useless if one is dead

Beta could feel the bond between him and Alpha deteriorate quickly and he knew exactly what that meant. He watched from below, hiding within the shadows, as the Dragon hovered in the air. His soul, connected with Alpha's, began to shift into instability.

He moved from the shadows and looked for his opponent. He quickly galloped across the open roads within seconds, following the thundering roar and ground-trembling thuds of its feet. Beta quickly scampered after through the ruins of Canterlot, ignoring the similar destruction he had caused and began to panic once he recognized the skeleton structure of what used to be a school.

The doors had been ripped open, revealing the makeshift fortifications within. The doors of the classrooms had been removed and were used as shields. Corpses and figures lay behind them, taking cover from what he assumed was the assault. Flickering embers and ash covered the hallways and the lockers were peppered with holes from spells that never hit their target.

The carpet had been singed and the rubber floor tiles were bubbling. He could see without much inspection the direction they were running from the imprints in the rubber. He followed the tracks, entering a trot then into a gallop as he watched more and more imprints join together heading towards the back of the school.

Galloping at top speed, Beta ran past the figures and the corpses, making sure not to disturb those here. The doors grew near and he lowered his head as he forced open the oak walls. He scanned the room and his eyes locked onto hers. They focused on him for a few seconds before they unfocused and did not move.

The filly was standing in the corner of the gym, stuck under a heap of steel and roofing that had collapsed when the Dragon decided to become replace the furnace of the school with his own flames. Death by asphyxiation, from either inhaling toxic fumes or by carbon monoxide poisoning. A quick inspection revealed that it was neither: she had poked her head out but had gotten stuck, and was slowly crushed to death by the weight of the pile.

With the light from his magic glowing brighter, Beta realized what he was surrounded by. The corpses weren't killed by the guards whose bodies surrounded the school and filled the classrooms. They weren't fighting each other, as shown by the lack of blood and cuts on hide. They were barricading themselves from the Dragon.

Another roar from the Dragon on its search for him and Beta looked up, his eyes fixated on the dragon hovering in the midnight sky. His emotions, his anger from his usual self, his panic from the fact that Alpha was dying, and the shame that he had been defeated began to manifest. It formed a small red ball that hovered above his faceplate.

The thundering thuds of the feet growing near as the Dragon decided to check the school one last time vibrated his armor.

But he growled as he became unstable, ignoring the incoming danger and focusing on his anger, forcing himself to remember his time as the age of the now deceased filly. Being alienated, being teased and bullied, beat up and put down. It wasn't the anger from the confusion of why these ponies hated him so much but it was the pain from what they did that fueled his rage. The endless well of pain and self-hatred.

The Dragon's head came into view as it peered into the gaping hole of the school. It recognized the glowing figure and began to breathe in, the air whistling between those daggered teeth.

The idea of wanting to hurt those he knew who had hurt him for so long. The fantasy of burning his school, torching it up and standing in the center, watching his hell burn for burning him in hell; the memory of going to school that one fateful day and shooting up his school with spells, each aimed and homing on those who had always teased and bullied him; the spells that split up and aimed for the teachers and counselors who betrayed him when he asked for help, who always pushed his requests aside and tried to change the subject; the emotions that manifested into demons of hell who targeted those who saw what happened but never bothered to do something about it filled his mind.

The plume of fire raced towards him, but as the bond snapped and Beta turned his focus onto it, the stress of what was going on snapped the last straw. The beam of light exploded from the small sphere and dueled with the fire which fought heavily against it. Magic against Fire; Emotion against Intelligence; the two dueled for a short while until the Dragon ran out of breath.

Sensing the fire deteriorate in fuel, the light broke through, proving brighter than the fire's light can possibly out match, channeling through the cracks and curves until it reached the muzzle of the Dragon, ripping the head clean off. With its obstruction moved, the magic raced on, aiming and homing onto the single enemy Beta had left.

* * *

Despite being unable to feel most of his body, Alpha felt warm. It was calming after all the agony and pain had dispersed. He cursed himself earlier for not asking Beta what to do after he died. _It'd be a new life,_ he told himself as he slowly lost his grip on the world around him. _A new life, new ponies to meet, another chance until I find the right one to bond with and leave this place for good. _

From out of nowhere, pain electrified his body and Alpha writhed about. It felt like it was coming from everywhere at once. He cried out as the agony made him twitch and scream, breathing in more and more of the burning fluid that dissolved his mouth and throat. Amidst the confusion, Alpha was unable to realize his breaths of fresh air that cooled his flesh and allowed him to scream again, unable to see the burning villages climb toward him as his eyes focused once more, unable to feel the world rush to him as his wings flutter in the wind; unable to notice he was falling to the earth.

* * *

He staggered and struggled to stay standing, watching the small dot fall from the sky. Tired, exhausted, and out of energy, Beta forced himself to stay awake and move forward. He painfully walked through the ruins in the silence of the dead, occasionally stumbling. Alone, Beta was looking upon the destruction that he had attempted to remove with his own abilities. It was worse than he had hoped and he didn't hope for much. No one survived. The Changeling population was obliterated and now dwindling down to near un-reproducible numbers. Without Chrysalis, whom Beta assumed had died in the beginning of the battle, there was no changeling left to lead them.

It was eerie. Smoke rose from the burned and charcoaled remains with the sun slowly rising. As the bond's last strands began to thin, Beta became curious, glancing around and examining his surroundings. If he had more time, he'd go through and explore the wrecks, satisfying his curiosity. Eventually, after what seemed like an hour of walking, he found himself looking at the inert armor.

The armor was corroded and broken, revealing what was left of the husk inside. His mane and tail were gone and nothing was left of his flank. The stomach acids had ate through the armor and made short work of his stomach, back, legs, and flank. His chest was caved in, and his head was still covered within the helmet, which Beta didn't remove as he felt it was unnecessary.

The bond snapped and with it, his grasp on Alpha faded away. The presence that he had learned to love disappeared and he no longer felt any emotion. Connected to his suit through magic and magic alone, Beta was no longer tethered to the world of the living. It will be harder for him to return to this realm if he leaves now, as Alpha was his main option of getting back.

Beta placed the armor back onto the corpse, nodded once, and backed up. As the Sun rose from the horizon, the sky becoming brighter, Beta stood where he was. He knew there was one last dragon left. He knew he would be a major aid with Delta but this situation brought him conflict.

No longer being tethered, being stuck with Alpha, and now control of a suit for himself, Beta was free. As long as he held his grip with the suit, Beta was part of the mortal world. And without Alpha there to disappoint or possible fight against, he was free to right what he thought wrong.

At once, Beta destroyed the body, using the spare armor for himself. The metal layers slowly flew to him, disorganized, and attempted to join his armor. Moving the dead was something he knew was disrespectful, but given the circumstances, he _needed_ the extra protection.

And Alpha wouldn't have need of the body. Not anymore at least.

The wings of Alpha stood hovering in front of him. Because he was an Earth-Pony, Beta had no need for wings to fly and instead turned them into knives, but he knew it would be an incredible mistake not to take advantage of.


End file.
